Once More...
by Shimonu
Summary: [Episode 7] Festival night. Beautiful yukatas, fun games, family events and fireworks all about! How come the two guys are all alone by themselves?
1. Introductions and Rejections

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

- Spoiler Warning -

The story takes place after chapter 121 of the manga (volume 14). BUT it occurs before chapter 122 and 123 (the epilogue/wedding)

Special Thanks goes to my two most favourite people in the world right now: The Archimage and One Man Cult. They were supporting my ideas from the beginning and even became my beta-readers. Truly good people they are! ^_^

Please review, and when doing so, please be brutal! This is my FIRST time writing and I need to know my weaknesses. Send all comments, opinions, questions, etc (heck even if you just want to talk) to: ia_si@hotmail.com

Episode 1 – Introductions and rejections

It was the definition of a dreamy pre-summer afternoon. There were students in the hallways talking about their plans for the summer, and professors preparing for the close of the semester. Corridors filled with anticipation of a fruitful summer. They were all in their own little worlds wondering about the future, and what it had in store for them. In one hallway, two beautiful ladies stood out amongst the talkative crowd.

"Naru-senpai, why are we here again?" Aoyama Motoko asked as the two of them were walking together. Motoko was not used to large groups of people and so she made sure not to stray too far from her long time friend.

"Checking out Tokyo University before actually passing the exam is sure to inspire you Motoko-chan," Narusegawa Naru replied sincerely. "It helped the three of us many times in the past when our hopes were down. Anyways, I have to hand in this assignment paper before the summer. I've got to go to room 307 to hand this in. If you want, you can go find Keitaro in room 222."

Motoko watched as Naru ran up the stairs to the third floor. She thought to herself how her senpai should not be running up the stairs in such a short skirt. The large male population around the hallway was bound to take a peek or two. A smile broke across her face.

"Keitaro probably wouldn't do anything if the other guys stare," she said quietly to herself. She realized that she too, was being stared at by a group of young male students.

She was not very fond of being with strangers, especially boys, so this fact made her blush and feel very uncomfortable.

"Room 222, room 222, room 222," Motoko screamed to herself as she ran down the hallways. "Why, of all days, did I decide to wear a dress today?" She pondered for a brief moment and allowed herself to sigh. "Although the two of them are an official couple now, I guess I wore this for Keitaro."

Motoko suddenly stopped and took a breath. She hadn't been training lately due to her studies. Her body wasn't prepared for the sudden run and she admitted to herself that she was getting really tired. Instead of running she decided to walk the rest of the distance.

"I finally found room 222," Motoko pouted. "I better fix myself before entering or else Keitaro might get some perverted ideas." She quickly straightened herself up.

She started to open the door when suddenly a man with a lot of books barged out. Motoko shouted a warning, but it was too late; the man ran into her and the tower of books scattered in all directions.

"Ahh, sorry!" said the young man as he came to his senses. He opened his eyes and realized that his head was on her chest.

"You stupid pervert!" Motoko shouted as she launched one of her punch attacks. She was very angry this time. The idea of Keitaro doing the same-old perverted things in public was unbearable to her.

"You won't go unpunished this time, Urashima! Your clumsiness will be your undoing."

"What's going on out here?" A taller man asked as he entered the hallway. "Oh, it's you Motoko-chan. What are you doing here? I bet you came here with Naru."

"Seta-san!" a surprised Motoko replied. "Ah yes! Senpai brought me along to show me the school, but she wanted to hand in an assignment so I decided to drop by. I was just about to come in when Keitaro…"

"Hi Motoko-chan." 

In front of her was a man who in appearance looked similar to Seta but was much shorter. She recognized the man immediately and her face lit up with surprise.

"Keitaro?! Then who is this person here?" Motoko shouted as she pointed to the man who was picking himself off the ground.

"Ahh geez, what was the name of the truck that landed on me?"

The stranger picked himself up and began to wipe some dust off of him. He rubbed the part of his head that made initial impact with the ground. Motoko stared in disbelief at the stranger. In front of her was a man who looked a lot like Keitaro and Seta. Looking closer she realized his body was a bit more built then the two, and he also did not wear glasses like the other two. He looked 'off' Japanese. It was as though he was not originally born and raised in Japan. 

"You guys know her? Then why the hell did she attack me?"

"Keitaro is the manger of an inn, now turned girls dorm, named Hinata-sou" Seta explained. "Aoyama Motoko here is a resident."

"Ahh!" The stranger realized. "So that's why you guys are so friendly with each other; it's because you live together!"

"What? That's not it at all!" Motoko finally was able to say something but she wasn't too happy. Not only did the stranger touch her in a personal area, but also was now suggesting that she and Keitaro had some perverted relationship. She quickly ran toward the stranger and was about to let loose a volley of attacks if it wasn't for the intervention of a senior professor.

"What is the meaning of this? The rules are quite simple, no fighting in the school! Get your students under control now!" the senior professor yelled at Seta.

"I am very sorry sir! I will get these two under control."

The professor left and the crowd around them died down.

"You guys are causing me a lot of trouble today" Seta said in a relaxed manner. "I just got back from Molmol a week ago so please don't get me fired so soon."

"Sorry about the trouble Seta-san" Keitaro replied. "How about you come join us for dinner tonight?"

"That would be great! Although I been back for a week, I still haven't got a house or any food." He began to laugh as he would in situations like these.

"You haven't changed, have you Seta?" Motoko commented.

****************************************

Later that day Naru was walking home from grocery shopping. Summer was coming and school was over for Keitaro, Mutsumi-san and herself today. It had been very difficult for them to get to Toudai together and yet, it had been lots of fun as well. As the many memories of past adventures flashed through her mind, she couldn't help but smile. She and Keitaro now openly share a love they would have denied only one year earlier. She was pretty sure she was happy, but she wasn't completely satisfied yet. Although it had been several months since the two of them started dating seriously, nothing much had progress beyond a kiss. The very thought of them getting to the 'middle' once made her blush immensely. They tried several times after that to try 'it' again only to have something or someone get in their way. Naru sighed and looked up at Hinata-sou in front of her. She decided that if anything was to happen she must take the initiative.

"Naru-senpai, thank goodness; you're finally here with the groceries." Shinobu, the youngest resident of Hinata-sou and residential cook, greeted Naru.

"I'm happy to see you too!" Naru sarcastically replied.

"Oh, I'm very sorry Naru-senpai. I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that when Urashima-senpai told me that Seta-san finally returned and is expected to show up for dinner…"

*Giggle* "Don't worry too much Shinobu, it's only Seta-san don't forget. He wouldn't care too much about what is on the plate as long as he has something to eat."

"Nonetheless we should prepare a proper meal for our guest Naru-senpai" Motoko stated as she entered the kitchen. "Since Seta-san is a long time friend, we should treat him with a better meal then the usual."

Naru looked at Motoko with an agreeing smile. She gave her friend a nod and prepared herself for cooking. "Alright then, let's start getting this feast together!"

****************************************

The three of them were almost done preparing dinner. Usually it would only take Shinobu to accomplish such a task, but the occasion was special. With an extra guest and the earlier incident of not having groceries soon enough, Shinobu was in a frenzy to get everything done. Naru and Motoko, seeing this, decided to help her. Naru was able to make delicious meals but had a tendency to make them not very appealing. Motoko on the other hand was only able to make simple dishes due to her lack of practice. In the end it was Shinobu who did the most.

"Shinobu, you should calm down and take a breath," Naru suggested. "The way you're moving around is making the rest of us really dizzy."

"I agree with Naru-senpai," Motoko said. "It would be very unhealthy of you to continue like that."

"I'm sorry Naru. It's just that I want to make tonight like a welcome back celebration" Shinobu said in her shy manner.

"Well, we're pretty much done!" Naru exclaimed. "Shinobu, you should take it easy now. We should talk about something else besides Seta and cooking."

"What do you suggest Naru-senpai?"

"I know exactly what. Let's talk about what happened today with you Motoko!"

"What?! What happened with me today? What do you know?"

"Everything. Keitaro told me every single detail of you and Kenichi"

"What's a Kenichi? Is it delicious?" Su Kaolla, the second youngest female resident appeared out from a secret hole on the ceiling.

"Yeah, who is Kenichi?" Sara McDougal, the young adopted daughter of Seta followed her friend Kaolla out of the hole.

"You two stay out of this," Motoko snapped at them. "His name is Kenichi?! You know that pervert?"

"I met him last week when he was help moving things for Seta-san. I thought he would be just another one of Seta's students so I didn't bother to introduce myself although he seemed very interested to get to know me. I thought he was trying to suggest something but it turns out that he is a very good friend of Keitaro. When Keitaro told me the whole event this morning I couldn't help but laugh."

"Motoko-senpai, does this mean you have a boyfriend?" Shinobu asks innocently.

"NO! What woman in the right mind would fall in love with a perv…"

"Ahem. Seta should be here soon"

"Who…"

Everyone turned around to see who just entered the conversation. It was Haruka leaning against the kitchen door. There was definitely something different about her. She was wearing casual clothing and had a very feminine look to her. Her voice was softer then normal and she had the radiance of a beautiful mature woman. For once, she did not have a cigarette in her mouth. Something must have happened between her and Seta to change her like that. Right behind her were Konno Mitsune and Otohime Mutsumi.

"Ara Ara. Everyone is here already."

"Hi everyone," Naru greeted. "Haruka-san, when did you get back?"

"I am Seta's wife now thanks to you guys, so naturally Sara and I came back with him last week. I've been at the teahouse though, just cleaning and organizing things there. Before I knew it a week has passed by. Of course I'm not surprised seeing how the two workers of the teahouse tend to eat and drink a lot."

Mitsune and Mutsumi looked at each other sheepishly and giggled at their slip-up.

"Hey everyone, I finally got here!" Seta yelled to get everyone's attention. "Does anyone have a band-aid? I had a car accident on the way here and I think I injured myself." 

"Seta-san!" Everyone was happy that the main guest has finally arrived. They all left the kitchen area and proceeded to the front lobby.

"Seta, where's Keitaro?" Naru asked.

"He's outside helping to move some things. But anyways, how's the food today? I'm starving."

Motoko and Shinobu looked at each other and realized that dinner wasn't completely finished yet and the table wasn't set. They went back to the kitchen and broke down the two chores between them. Shinobu finished up the cooking where as Motoko took the plates and bowls and headed out to set the table. Of all the people she expected to see, he was the last of them.

"You! The pervert from before!" Motoko glared at the man whom she meant only today. She dropped the plates and quickly grabbed her sword.

"Oh yeah, you live here don't you." Kenichi gave her a smile that quickly melted away with fear as he noticed the sword in Motoko's hands.

"What the hell?!"

Kenichi ran for his life with Motoko in quick pursuit. She had her sword up and her eyes suggested a power unknown to most. The blade had a glint of readiness. '_Why is this happening to me?_' Kenichi thought to himself. '_What did I do? And I just met this girl today. Oh my luck._' The terrified Kenichi ran to the lobby, hoping that someone would help save his life. Luckily, Keitaro was there, putting down some heavy boxes.

"I think these are gifts for everyone from Seta and Haruka," Keitaro said. "We'll go through them after dinner. I'm pretty hungry so…"

"Ahh! Keitaro, make this kendo girl stop trying to kill me!"

Kenichi runs behind Keitaro's back keeping his eyes on Motoko to make sure she would not attack him anyways.

"Come out and fight me like a warrior," Motoko yelled.

"Warrior? I just got here and you want me to be a warrior?" Kenichi gave her an awkward face only to provoke her even more.

"That's it! You must face death!"

"Hold on a second, Motoko-chan," Naru interrupted. She and Keitaro looked at each other and agreed on something. "Although whatever Kenichi had done may have made you really angry, he is our guest tonight and so we should treat him like one. Am I right Motoko-chan?"

Without saying anything, Motoko lowered her sword and walked back toward the mess she made when she dropped the plates. Her attitude wasn't pleasant and that made the residents uneasy. They all turned around and looked at the man whom Motoko was so frantically set on killing. Kenichi noticed this and quickly fixed his posture and clothing.

"Hi everyone. My name is Arai Kenichi."

****************************************

"Hahaha good story, Kenichi," Seta laughed. "And this meal is excellent. Thanks everyone."

"Someone would have to feed you anyway, Seta," Haruka commented.

"Sara, Motoko hasn't said anything all of dinner," Kaolla whispered to her friend.

"And look at her, she looks like she could blow up at anytime," Sara quietly replied.

"Maybe she ate something funny," Mutsumi entered the conversation suddenly.

"Ahhh! Don't do that turtle girl!"

Kenichi looked around the table and gave a sigh. "Keitaro, you have got to be the luckiest guy on the planet. You have a cute girlfriend, cute residents, and an especially cute chef."

He waves happily at Shinobu who was serving seconds to Seta. She blushed madly and began to run to the kitchen.

Motoko exploded with rage. "I promised that I'll treat you like a guest but that was unacceptable!" She took out her sword and placed it against his neck.

"Settle down Motoko-chan. I am quite sure Kenichi is only trying to be polite," Seta said.

"How about we change the topic," Mutsumi suggested.

"I agree. How about you tell us what area of Japan you come from," Mitsune asked slyly. "It wouldn't happen to be near here would it?"

"Eh? Actually not at all," Kenichi replied nervously.

"He's from America," Keitaro stated. "Although both his parents are Japanese, he was born American."

Everyone looked at disbelief at Kenichi not knowing whether to believe Keitaro or not.

"We, that is Seta and I, met him on one of our expedition trips when we were in America."

"He saved our lives on our last hunt and so we owe him a lot," Seta said.

Mutsumi, Kaolla, and Tama began to huddle together to discuss something.

"What is it?" Keitaro questioned

"Since Kenichi is from America…could that explain the weird energy inside Kenichi?" Mutsumi asked.

Keitaro, Seta, and Kenichi look at each other and began to laugh hysterically. Everyone else was left wondering if their male friends had gone mad.

Motoko was especially uneasy. '_Weird energy?_' She thought to herself. '_I should be able to sense that kind of thing. Why can't I? What can this possibly mean?_'

Kenichi quickly got everyone's attention as he explained how he got to Japan.

"So anyways, I left for Japan because I had nothing left in America," he said with a smile. "It took awhile to get here because I don't like planes and decided to take a boat instead. When I got here I heard that Keitaro and Seta went off on some journey for Toudai or something, so I floated from job to job, apartment to apartment. My memory is really poor so I would always get fired, and kicked out of apartments for missing the rent pay. Luckily last week I ran into Seta while searching for a new apartment. He offered to let me stay with him."

"The problem is that we don't have a place to stay either," Seta said. He looked at Haruka and then Keitaro. "So what Keitaro and I have decided is that until we find a proper home for ourselves, Sara, Haruka, and I will be living in the teahouse.

"What about us?!" Mitsune shouted. She looked at Mutsumi who did not see the troubles in the situation. 

"Ara ara."

"You guys will have to move back to Hinata-sou," Keitaro stated. "Mutsumi will have to double up with someone."

"And as for Kenichi…" Seta looks at Kenichi and then at Keitaro.

"Kenichi will stay here with us until he finds a proper home," Keitaro said.

"Eh? Really?" Kenichi was in shock of the turn of events. He was not the only one in shock however.

"Absolutely not!!!" Motoko yelled. Her eyes glowed with rage.

"Well, it would be great if I could just stay here for a short while." Kenichi looks around the room and noticed all the females. "I didn't think I would ever be able to stay in an all girls dormitory."

"I could never accept your stay here!" Motoko stood up and waved her fist around. An anger vein was growing at the side of her head. 

"That's not very polite… I am the manager's friend after all."

"I could care less! Excluding our manger, this is an all girls dormitory. I would never allow another pervert stay here, even for a day!"

Mitsune grabs Motoko before she could start to attack. "Calm down."

"I'm sorry Motoko," Keitaro apologized. "But this is not your decision to make. As manager of this dormitory, I insist that Kenichi stay here with us."

Kaolla jumps out of her seat and delivers a crushing kick to Keitaro's head. "Why are you being so cool all of a sudden Keitaro?"

"Urashima, you can't be serious," Motoko remarked.

"I am afraid I am. Seta and I owe him a lot and this is the least we can do until he gets on his feet and gets into Tokyo University."

"Tokyo University?!" Everyone shouted.

"You mean he isn't a student yet?"

"No he isn't, Naru," Seta said. "His goal had always been that since Keitaro told him about it."

"Haha, after all the stories of how he found happiness with Naru, I knew I had to try to get in." Keitaro and Naru blushed immensely. "Unfortunately, ever since I got here I haven't the time to sit down and study. This would give me the chance that I need."

"Maybe you can join up with us, Kenichi!" Kaolla shouted. "Me, Shinobu, and Motoko formed a ronin study group to get into Toudai!"

"Wow, that would be great!"

"No!" Motoko screamed. She stood up and gave Kenichi a hard punch across the face. Everyone expected him to fly across the room, only to see him tilt to his side a bit.

"Ouch! That hurt a lot," Kenichi exclaimed while rubbing his cheek.

"Wow, that was impressive," Mitsune commented. "I wonder why he didn't go flying like Keitaro usually does.

****************************************

Shinobu cleared the tables and was preparing to wash the dishes. Although everyone complimented on her excellent cooking skills, she felt very sad. That day was meant to be a day of happiness and celebration. She wanted it to be that and so she worked hard to make everyone happy. She allowed herself to sigh. Now they have another male resident and to top it off Motoko said that he was a big pervert. But memories began to come back to Shinobu. '_Wasn't Keitaro-senpai just like that?_' she thought to herself. '_Maybe I should try to be nice to him._'

"Hey there, Shinobu is it?" Kenichi walks into the kitchen. After all the arguing and fighting between him and Motoko, Shinobu was surprised to not see bruises and cuts.

"I'm sorry, I'm not particularly strong with names."

"Ah yes, my name is Maehara Shinobu. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kenichi-san."

"Please don't treat me like I'm special, just Kenichi will be fine. May I help you do the dishes?"

"Ah?! Umm usually I do the dishes by myself."

"Don't worry too much about it. As long as I am a resident here, I should help out wherever I can."

After several minutes the two of them had cleaned most of the dishes.

"What are you trying to do to her?!" Motoko yelled as she walked into the kitchen.

"Ahh! I'm trying to do nothing! I only wanted to help out."

"Lies! Quick death is the answer." Motoko sword was placed against his neck.

"Motoko-senpai! I was really tired and if it wasn't for senpai's help, I probably would not have been able to finish cleaning up."

*Sigh* "Fine, you can go. But watch yourself!"

"Are we done here Shinobu?"

"I'll finish up what's left here. It's not a lot so I will be alright by myself."

"Okay I'll see you later." Kenichi leaves the kitchen, nervously keeping his eyes on Motoko the whole time.

****************************************

Otohime Mutsumi was walking around Hinata-sou looking for something to do. On most days she would either study or help out at the teahouse, but both were not attractive to her at that moment. The place was usually sprawling with activities but it seemed very quiet for some reason. Tama-chan, the residential hot spring turtle, flew by and landed on her back. She was glad she had lots of friends here at Hinata-sou. It took much of her troubles away. Mutsumi was wondering about the new resident, Arai Kenichi. She detected a strange energy inside him, but the others just laughed it off. Oddly enough, he looked vaguely like Keitaro without his glasses. She decided the best thing to do was to find Kenichi and to figure out what his personality was like.

"Tama-chan, do you know where he is?"

"Myuu myuu"

"He's heading this way you say?"

"Look out!!!" Kenichi screamed.

*Tiyuu tiyuu* Laser noises could be heard. Kenichi comes out of a door wearing a whole bunch of equipment around him. To top it off he was carrying a large gun of some kind.

"What are you doing Kenichi-chan?"

"Oh hi, Mutsumi-san! Kaolla and Sara wanted to play a game with me. It is a lot like Laser Tag back at home so I thought I could give it a try. But it seems that these guns of Kaolla actually spew out real lasers and they give you quite the shock if you're not wearing protective gear."

*Tiyuu tiyuu* "He's in here Kaolla!"

"I got you now, Kenichi!"

*Tiyuu tiyuu*

"Ara…ara…" Mutsumi gasped as she was accidentally shot.

"STOP…stop…time out!" Kenichi took Mutsumi in his arms. "Are you alright Mutsumi? I'm so sorry you got hit."

"I'm okay Arai-kun." 

She placed her palm against the side of his face. He blushed immensely as she gave him a very innocent look.

"Umm, Mutsumi-san, are you alright?"

"You remind me of little Keitaro, back when we were children. I'm okay. You can go play with Kaolla and Sara again. I'll be fine Arai-kun."

"You sure? Okay I'm going now." Kenichi looked at her with a sincere smile. He picked up his gun and pointed it at Kaolla.

"You guys are dead now!" He charged at them letting off a group of laser shots.

Mutsumi picks herself off the ground and wiped the dust off of her. "Ara ara."

****************************************

 "So Mutsumi agreed to double up with Mitsune and Kenichi will be in my room. Sara also said that she wanted to stay with Kaolla, leaving Seta and Haruka alone." Keitaro and Naru were having a peaceful talk in Naru's room.

"Where will you be sleeping then Keitaro?"

"Probably outside on the couch. It's not a big problem."

Naru looked at Keitaro and reminisced. Almost four years ago Keitaro came to this place a lot like Kenichi did today. If it weren't for Keitaro, Kenichi would have been kicked out. Back then; if it weren't for Haruka, Keitaro would have been kicked out.

The man in front of her wasn't the same man in the beginning though. He's changed and she had fallen deeper in love with him every single time he improved. 

"Keitaro…"

"Yes Narusegawa?"

"How about you stay here with me tonight?" 

Her face was deep red and she knew it. She felt the heat all around her head, making her dizzy and light-headed. Keitaro stood up and was slowly approaching her.

"Watch out for that rug!" It was too late, Keitaro slipped and crash-landed right on top of her.

"Narusegawa…are you okay with that?" His hand was now around her waist, and his mouth was very near her neck. Each breath he took made Naru tingle with sensation.

"Ah…Keitaro…you shouldn't…be so close…"

"Narusegawa…I can't…help myself…"

"Hey guys! What's with this hole…AHH!" Kenichi realized what he was witnessing as he was hanging on the side of the hole.

"You peeping pervert!" Naru got up and was blazing with anger.

"Narusegawa, he didn't mean to…" Keitaro was silenced with one of Naru's famous punches.

"Now it's your turn you pervert!" Naru made a made dash for the hole and let unleash a powerful kick. Kenichi; however, dropped down to the bottom floor and her kick missed by several inches. Naru didn't expect this to happen and fell down the hole too.

"Catch her, Kenichi!" Naru fell safely into his arms. He placed her down and quickly took several steps back.

"I'm so sorry Naru! I really didn't mean to catch you two doing…uhh…" 

"Hmmph!" Naru turned her back to Kenichi and proceeded to walk out the room. Keitaro dropped down from Naru's room and sat himself near his table.

"You got quite the lady to yourself there, Keitaro," Kenichi said with a snicker.

"I thought the same thing to when I first got here. Trust me, she has her cute side too. One time she… Hey!" Kenichi was rummaging through Keitaro's closet and found several things that he should not have.

"She lets you look at these dirty things?!" Kenichi was wide-eyed with what he was looking at.

"Yes…I mean no…Give them back!" Keitaro chased Kenichi around the room hoping to get his magazines back.

"Haha you're quite the pervert aren't you friend?"

"You should talk…How about you hand them to me if you're so proper!" 

Naru was standing outside of Keitaro's door. '_What would have happened if Kenichi did not show up?_' she wondered to herself.

*Sigh* "They are awfully loud in there," Naru said as she was listening into their conversation.

"Naru-senpai, what are you doing out here?" Shinobu asked. She was carrying a tray of snacks and tea.

"I, umm, was just leaving here," Naru answered quickly. "Shinobu…what do you think of Kenichi?"

"He's…well he is very nice," Shinobu replied sincerely with a smile on her face. "He helped me do the dishes today, although I did not ask him too. If you will excuse me Naru-senpai."

Shinobu gently knocked on the door and slowly walked in. She found the two exchanging funny stories that had happened to them in the past.

"Umm, I have brought tea and snacks for you, senpai."

Kenichi stood up and fixed himself up. "I would like it very much if you and Naru joined us for the tea and snacks."

"Umm, thank you for the invitation, Kenichi," Naru said. "I accept, but you better keep this good behaviour of yours that you've got going on now."

Kenichi gave an honest smile seeing that he wasn't fooling anyone. "I'll try my best."

"Can I join you guys too?" Mitsune was at the door behind Naru. She was holding a box full of sake and beer. "I brought a bunch of drinks so we can have a real party." She took a nice long look at Kenichi, which left him really nervous.

"Is she always like this?" He whispered to Keitaro.

"You'll get used to it," Keitaro replied with a laugh.

"Party, party, party!" Kaolla, Sara, and Mutsumi appeared from a side hole that wasn't noticeable earlier.

"What the…haha, I think I'm going to like this place," Kenichi laughed.

Motoko was passing by Keitaro's room, which was now Kenichi's temporary room. She was on the looking out to make sure Kenichi wasn't doing something perverted again. To her surprise everyone was having a party in his room.

"Hey kendo girl, would you like to join us?" Kenichi asked. Motoko turned away and continued on walking.

"Wait a second!" He got up and ran after Motoko. "I need to talk to you!"

Motoko turned around to face him. They were in the hallway now, having a good look at each other for once. Kenichi was just slightly taller then Motoko, which struck Motoko odd since she was a very tall girl.

"What ever it is that you want to say, I don't want to hear it." She turned around again and began to walk away.

"Just give me a chance here!" He grabbed her hand. "I only wanted to say that I am sorry and that I did not want those bad things to happen to you. I know that you don't like me very much but that doesn't mean we have to start off the wrong way. I'm not expecting you to forgive me today but I hope these hard feelings won't last forever."

Motoko was in shock. '_A perverted guy like him actually manages to apologize?_' she thought to herself. She faced him again; her face was blushing as she remembered that her hand was still with his.

"Fine…I'll accept your apology, but let go of my hand." Kenichi looks down and forgot that they were still holding hands.

"Ahh…sorry, I forgot about that." His face quickly turned deep red. "Will you join us for the party?"

"Very well." Motoko looked at him with a face that held no more anger. 

'_Maybe he isn't so bad after all,_' she thought.

"After you," Kenichi motioned her to go first.

"Umm…thank you." The two of them walked backed to the room. They were entering the room when something caught Motoko's eye.

"Watch out for that can," Motoko warned Kenichi.

"What can…Ahh!" Kenichi fell and landed face first into Motoko's chest.

"Ara ara!"

"Haha…this party keeps on getting better and better!" Mitsune shouted.

"Argh! To think I forgave you!" Motoko screamed. "Hiken Zankuusen!"

"I am so sorry!"

End Episode 1

Author's Comments

Haha yep this is my new hobby – writing. And since I am crazy about Love Hina, I decided to place my energy into a Love Hina fanfic. I can honestly say that this project almost got scrapped. Why? Two words, Mary-Sue. I was worried that you guys, the readers, would think that I was just trying to live out my fantasy. But thanks to One Man Cult (for his words of wisdom) and the time I spent in February redesigning Kenichi, I decided to go ahead anyways and write this story. So here is a question that I would like to have answered – do you like original characters in fanfics, and if you don't then what would it take to make a character like-able? Email your responses please.


	2. A Portrait to the Past

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

Many thanks go out to the amazingly talented people who I am proud to call my beta-readers: TheArchimage, One Man Cult, and dementedchris. My grammar is really poor and yet they were able to put up with it! Special thanks go out to those readers who reviewed Episode 1. Those comments were absolutely great and I am very happy to hear them. Send all mail to: ia_si@hotmail.com

Episode 2 – A Portrait to the Past

"What time is it?" Urashima Keitaro grumbled as he woke up groggily. The night before, the residents of Hinata-sou had thrown a big party to welcome their new guest, Arai Kenichi. With this specific party, Keitaro had downed one drink too many. '_Or was it four too many?_' he thought to herself. Last night he had a drinking contest with the newcomer, but not only did Kenichi easily win over him; he challenged Mutsumi and Mitsune right afterwards. Keitaro gave out a sigh and did a morning stretch.

"I must be getting old," he said out loud. "At least my hangover isn't too bad." 

*Yawn* "What's going to happen today?"

He looked up to the ceiling of the room and noticed the covered hole. Although Naru suggested that he could sleep in her room while Kenichi was staying in his, he ended up sleeping in his own room anyway. He looked across the room where Kenichi should have been.

"He hasn't changed at all since America," he said to himself. Keitaro went about cleaning the room from yesterday's party.

"I wonder what Kenichi is up to," Keitaro wondered. He gave his arms another stretch as he checked the time. "Ah geez! It's almost breakfast and I haven't done any of my manager duties yet."

Keitaro hastily changed into some working clothes and dashed outside to start his chores.

*Slip* *BAAM* Keitaro slowly picked himself up from the slippery ground.

"Oww…who did the floors this time?"

"Haha, good morning sunshine!" Keitaro looked up and saw an energetic Kenichi with a bucket of water in one hand, and a brush in the other.

"What have you been up to?"

"Well…after waking up, I went around the place looking for something to do. Seeing how tired everyone was from last night, I decided to clean the place up. I think I did everything already…hold on… nope I haven't cleaned the outdoor baths yet.

"Thanks friend, but I'll take care of the baths," Keitaro said. "Besides, I'm the manager, remember?"

"Haha, you go right at it then," Kenichi replied with an honest smile. "I'll just go find something else to do in the meantime. Maybe I'll cook breakfast, seeing how everyone is still asleep."

"Even Shinobu? And are you sure you want to cook breakfast?"

"Yeah Shinobu is still out. Poor girl…probably isn't used to drinking so much sake. And yeah, I'll cook."

"Are you sure?"

"What are you implying? I've cooked for you many times in the past!"

"Haha… go right on ahead then." Keitaro walked toward the outdoor baths and grinned. 'This is going to be an interesting day.'

****************************************

"Is breakfast done yet?" A hung over Mitsune stumbled down the stairs as she made her way to the dining hall. Right in front of her was her friend Kaolla whom, although was up all night too, was already well excited and energetic. 

"Shinobu just woke up!" Kaolla exclaimed. "She drank too much yesterday too!"

"Ahh…I'm sorry," Shinobu apologized. Shinobu's balance seemed off as she walked toward the dining hall. "After seeing Arai-senpai drink so much I wanted to try some too."

"Don't sweat it Shinobu," Mitsune said with a laugh. "You'll be able to out drink that guy some day… if you really wanted to that is. He sure gave me a run for my money though… So what's for breakfast?"

"Oh no! I haven't started yet!" Shinobu pouted. She dashed towards the kitchen only to slam into the wall as she saw the dining hall table.

"Shinobu, are you alright?" Mitsune asked. She looked at the table and immediately her senses flared. "Everything smells and looks so good! Who made this?!"

"What's going on?" Motoko said as she, Mutsumi and Sara slowly entered the dining hall.

Kenichi walked out from the kitchen with an apron and a chef's hat on.

"Morning everyone!" Kenichi greeted enthusiastically.

"Arai-kun, did you make all of this?"

"Yep, I sure did Mutsumi-san. I woke up early and had nothing better to do…"

"Wait a second!" Mitsune shouted. "You drank more than all of us combined! How come you don't have a hang-over?!"

"He's a young male from America," Sara said while looking at Mitsune. "I bet all he did was drink back when he was in high school."

"Kenichi made food!" Kaolla jumped closer to the table and tried some of the meat that Kenichi had prepared. She sniffed it first to take in the alluring aroma and then placed it in her mouth. "Blaah! It's awful!"

"What?!" Everyone shouted.

"Really? Is it really that bad? Maybe I can't cook after all." Kenichi turned around and began to mumble something. 

"Alright then, have dessert first!" He took out a plate of watermelon slices and presented it to Mutsumi.

"Aiyee!! I love watermelon Arai-kun!" She took several slices and stuffed them in her mouth.

"Yeah, I know. Keitaro would never stop talking about you guys back in America. When I got here, it was as though I already knew all of you."

"That's nice Kenichi but we can't just eat watermelon for breakfast." Mitsune grumbled.

"I'm sorry. I'll just toss these out first and start over again…"

"Wait Arai-senpai!" Shinobu yelled. "I know what's missing from them. Give them to me and I can have breakfast done quickly."

"You'll do that? Great! I'll help you then."

****************************************

'_It has been rather tiring around here lately_,' Keitaro thought to himself. With the school year heading into summer holidays and Kenichi becoming a temporary resident, things around Hinata-sou hadn't been the same. '_But then again, things are never normal around here._' He smiled and continued on with his scrubbing of the outside bath.

"I wonder how Kenichi is doing with the cooking," Keitaro said out loud.

"That is exactly the problem." 

Keitaro looked toward the exit and found Naru standing there. Her face, although hidden behind her large glasses, showed that she was not pleased with something. 

"Why is Kenichi doing all the work around here, Keitaro?"

Keitaro dropped his broom and braced himself for an argument. He could tell from her mood that he would not be able to easily get out of this one. 

"Narusegawa… Kenichi is a very close friend… and he… umm… feels that my duties are also his duties. I never forced him to do anything."

Naru's mood quickly changed to one of annoyance as she listened to what Keitaro had said. "What a pathetic excuse Keitaro. You are the manager! He's a guest! Therefore he should not have to do anything." Naru took several steps toward Keitaro to close in the space between them. The last one she took made her slip and she fell into Keitaro. The force was more then enough to drop them both to the ground, with Naru on top and Keitaro below her.

"The floor is slippery, Narusegawa. You should've been more careful."

In any other situation, Naru would have beaten Keitaro for not warning her sooner. But as she looked into Keitaro's eyes she saw his genuine care. Keitaro didn't know what Naru was going to do to him, and so he prepared himself for the worst.

"Thanks for breaking my fall," Naru gently said.

"Eh? Oh…you're welcome."

The two of them stared at each other for a period of time, recognizing how often they get into this kind of situation, and how interesting it always was.

"This happens a lot doesn't it," Keitaro said quietly. Naru giggled a bit and slowly moved her lips closer to Keitaro's.

"Narusega…."

"Shh…"

"Good morning you two." At the entrance to the outdoor bath was Haruka, pulling out a cigarette and lighter. Her eyes gave away that she had been up all night. "You two are sure right at it today."

Keitaro and Naru jumped back up and cleaned themselves up. They nervously laughed as they realized that they were being watched the whole time.

"Shouldn't you have knocked or something Haruka-san?" Naru asked.

"Just wanted to see how far you two would go this time." Haruka took a puff of her cigarette and turned away from Keitaro and Naru. Keitaro saw the look on Haruka's face and asked about it.

"Auntie Haruka, what have you been doing all night?!"

Haruka moved towards Keitaro and gave him a walloping punch that sent him flying.

"None of your business, and it's Haruka-san to you," she said in a monotone. She took another puff from her cigarette and gave out a sigh. "Naru, would you happen to know where Seta would be?"

"Eep!" Naru was nervous. The tired and yet passive mood of Haruka did not seem very pleasant at all. Any answer Naru gave her could be trouble. "Ah… he could be… digging around here."

Haruka looked at Naru with slight annoyance. She turned away from Naru and began to mumble to herself. "How could he leave me after last night…"

"What about last night Aunt Haruka?" Keitaro asked as he finally got back to the outdoor bath.

"Mind your own business!" Haruka exclaimed with another furious punch. She wiped her hands off of herself and looked at Naru again. Her face seemed to have calmed down and showed the normal Haruka that everyone was accustomed with. "Naru, if you see Seta, please tell him that he is in big trouble when he gets back."

"Umm… okay Haruka-san." Naru replied. "I'll be sure to tell him that."

As Haruka left, Naru sighed. She then turned around and headed toward the direction Keitaro flew off to. "Stupid, big-mouth Keitaro. Always causing trouble for yourself. How badly will I have to bandage you up this time?"

****************************************

Finally breakfast was served and everyone was at the table. When Keitaro showed up, everyone questioned what he did to Naru this time. They were surprised to find out that Keitaro got Haruka-san angry this time.

"Wow Kenichi!" Keitaro said. "This is actually good! How did this happen?"

"It's because I wasn't the one who made it. Shinobu was the chef this time."

"That isn't true!" Shinobu exclaimed. "I only fixed it up a little bit. Arai-senpai was the one who prepared all the dishes."

"What idiots those two are," Sara commented.

"Ara ara." Mutsumi laughed. "You two argue like a couple!"

Kenichi and Shinobu blushed a dark colour of red and looked away from each other.

"Haha… I don't think that is the case Mutsumi-san," Kenichi tried to point out.

Keitaro saw how uncomfortable Shinobu was and tried to change the topic. 

"I knew Kenichi could never cook this well. Back in America he would always try to cook for Seta and I. Haha… the problem would always be the same though. Kenichi had a habit of forgetting an important ingredient or skipping a step in the recipe. So the appearance of the dish was always deceptive of its actual taste.

"So that's why you didn't want me to cook," Kenichi said to Keitaro. "How come you just didn't say that?"

"I thought you would remember. Oh well… it's still really good, even if it did need a little bit of Shinobu's help."

Motoko placed her rice bowl down. She remembered the times she had tried cooking for everyone. The comments that she got were not always pleasant. She looked at Kenichi and Keitaro.

"Even if Arai's cooking skills may not be the greatest, he did try to make us a good meal." Motoko was about to mention the fact that Kenichi was a guest, but the thought of it made her shiver. She could not forgive him yet for what had happened the other day.

Everyone stared at Motoko in disbelief. Kaolla even put her rice bowl down to look at Motoko.

"Am I not right?" Motoko asked. She was very uncomfortable. 

'_Why did I have to go and say that?_' she thought.

"Umm… thank you Aoyama," Kenichi said. 

Motoko didn't say anything as she realized the situation that just occurred. She had just supported the pervert and now the pervert was thanking her for it.

"He's trying to thank you Motoko-chan," Naru said.

"Huh? Oh… you're welcome Arai." Motoko looked at Kenichi and saw his honest eyes. A glint of light gave his eyes a dashing look to him. 'Gaah, what am I thinking?! He's a pervert!'

Completely unaware of the two, the others went back to eating breakfast. Kaolla was the first to finish. She jumped out of her chair, and knocked Keitaro right off his.

"Kenichi, you want to play another game after breakfast?"

"Yeah sure," Kenichi replied. "Right after I help Shinobu with the dishes."

Naru gently elbowed Keitaro's side.

"You don't have to Kenichi," Keitaro said while looking nervously at Naru. "I'll do the dishes."

****************************************

Motoko was meditating in her room; her thoughts now focused on Kenichi. She had many questions she wanted answered, but she could never just go up to him and ask. He bothered her to no end. Just yesterday Mutsumi-san said something about a strange energy within Kenichi. What exactly had Mutsumi picked up? Seta, Keitaro and Kenichi just laughed it off and so Motoko thought nothing more of it. But there was something to Kenichi that she could not put her finger on. Something about him made her feel weird inside. '_A presence_,' she thought. At times like this, she only wished her older sister, Tsuruko, was there to guide her. A notion that she may feel love for Kenichi was quickly suppressed as she told herself that she knew what love was. Love, she told herself, was the feeling she had for Keitaro, and definitely not for Kenichi. She began an ancient family meditation to help her understand more. She was falling into a trance…

********************

She was transported to another world. A world that could have been Kenichi's, she wasn't sure. The meditation technique was never accurate. She looked around her surroundings. The world around her was heavenly. She looked around and felt at peace. White clouds and a calm light flooded the skies. The landscape was peaceful as her eyes saw the lush amount of life. It was tranquil and serene as she took in each breath of air. It was a world that had no chaos or disorder. But this was not the answer she was seeking. Although she would have enjoyed staying at such a magnificent garden of life, she needed to continue on her quest. She took a step, and then another, and she followed wherever her instinct told her. After a short while of travel, she saw a large settlement up ahead. What she was seeking for must be in that area she thought. The pathway towards the gates was good-natured as animals of all kinds came out to greet her. She knew that danger could be lurking near. After confirming that her sword was with her, she took the last leg of the path to the gates. 

What she saw only confused her more. The gate had a face-like mask in the middle of it. On one half of the mask was a demonic face, sinister and foul. On the other half was an angelic face, empathetic and honest. It made no sense to her. It was not the answer she was searching for. Just then the world became dark and gloomy. She heard a beast-like cry from behind the gates. Preparing herself for what could be a battle, she unsheathed her sword. The gates exploded and out came a ferocious beast. With a monstrous body and demonic claws it began its attack on her. Using all the skills and techniques she had obtained through her life, she tried to her best to put up a fight. The demon beast was too much as it slowly, but surely, out fought her. Although she had never in her life given up so easily, it was clear who was the stronger fighter. Suddenly, a man-like angel came out beside her. It charged at the demon beast and managed to push it back into the gates. After seeing such sights her morale was boosted and she tried to help the fight. She took up her sword again and braced herself for battle. The angel, seeing this, charged at her. It was not a harmful charge she realized as she gently fell. The angel only wanted to save her. As her sight began to blur, she saw the demon beast living the gates and striking the her saviour.

******************** 

Motoko came out of her trance. '_What was all of that? Was this about Kenichi? How could it?_' Thoughts and questions flooded her mind as she tried to come in terms with what she just witnessed.

'_Could it be my fate that I just saw?_" she thought. That question made the most sense to her. She quickly recounted every fact she knew about Kenichi and still, nothing was any clearer. She stood up and wiped sweat off of her brow.

"I should change into something else," she said to herself.

She took off her top and looked at the mirror. Lately she had been wrapping her chest really tightly causing her some troubles breathing.

'_Maybe I should just wear that bra Keitaro got me._' She smiled at how he gotten her such a silly gift for Christmas that one time.

Suddenly Kenichi charged into the room. "I finally found you, Kaolla!" He stopped right away when he realized the fatal mistake he had done. "I… uh… me… ran… AHH!"

A raging aura was being emitted from Motoko. With one hand she covered her chest. The other hand unsheathed her sword. Her eyes were maddeningly evil and the sight of it took away the colour from Kenichi's body.

"PERVERT!"

"I'm so sorry!" Kenichi finally pulled himself together again and started running.

"Ougi Zangan Ken!"

"AHH!"

****************************************

"Where did he go?!" Motoko snarled to herself. After she struck him with one of her secret techniques, she tried to chase him down as he ran. "He is pretty fast for a pervert. Huh? What's this?"

She picked up a wallet. Checking to see whose it could've been, she was shocked to see a picture of a beautiful, young girl.

"This is Arai's wallet," Motoko said as she saw his name on a card. "But this girl… she looks a lot like Naru-senpai."

"You must've found Kenichi's wallet." Keitaro walked up to her and gently took the wallet away. "He has a habit of dropping his stuff and looking for it later. Don't worry, I'll save you the trouble and give it back to him myself."

As Keitaro walked away, Motoko found herself unable to speak. '_Could it have been a picture of Naru-senpai?_' she thought to herself. '_Does Keitaro know about the picture?_'

****************************************

The attic of Hinata-sou was the usual ground for any plan of action. Dank and dark, the attic could keep whatever that has been discussed a secret. It was the place where the residents could get together and strategize against a foe.

"Is everyone here?" Motoko asked. "Where is Naru?"

"Naru-chan and Urashima-kun went for a walk together," Mutsumi replied.

"It's okay, we do not need her just yet." 

Motoko organized her thoughts and prepared what she was about to say. "When I was trying to track down Arai today I found his wallet on the ground. At first I did not know that it was his, but his name inside confirmed it."

Everyone was now paying attention to what she was about to say. Motoko would never call upon a meeting if it were not a serious matter.

"What surprised me was a picture in his wallet of a young girl. The young girl looked a lot like Naru-senpai."

Shock filled the room as everyone was trying to come to terms what this could mean. Mitsune was the first to pick up on what Motoko was worried about.

"If the picture is of Naru, then that could mean that Keitaro may not be her promised one."

"That is exactly what I am worried about, Kitsune," Motoko said. 

"But Motoko-sempai, Kenichi was born in America," Shinobu said in a worried manner. "Urashima-senpai told us that."

"Just because he was born in America does not mean he may have traveled here when younger," Motoko replied calmly. "His poor memory also supports that fact. Nonetheless we need to get a better look at that picture. We may even need to show it to Naru."

Mitsune had the look of a tactician. "Our only option… is to get that picture."

Everyone looked at Mitsune and Motoko. Although they were unsure of what this all could mean, they agreed to support Motoko. Following the agreement, they all began to plan on what actions to take.

****************************************

"Although I wanted to get away from Aoyama, I wonder where everyone else is." Kenichi was now wandering the great halls of Hinata-sou. He took several turns at each hallway and ended up in an area he hadn't gotten around to venture in before. "This place is pretty big once you realize it."

"Arai, you have something that I want!" Motoko said as she appeared from out of a corner. She unsheathed her sword and slowly walked towards Kenichi.

'_What is it that she wants this time?_' Kenichi asked himself. '_Does she really want to kill me? That's seems like a possibility… better not stay and find out though._'

Kenichi turns around and ran for his life once again. '_Why am I always running from this girl? She isn't very nice now is she?_'

"Hold on Arai!" Motoko yelled. "You don't understand."

He took several turns and secret passages Kaolla had shown him earlier. When he thought he had lost her, he slowed down and tried to catch his breath.

"Could… we… not… talk… about… it?"

"If you really want to Arai-kun." He looked up and what he saw sent his nose bleeding quickly. Mitsune and Mutsumi were up ahead and they were wearing some very revealing clothing.

"Why are you wearing that?!"

"It's because we have a favour to ask you," Mitsune said as she and Mutsumi got closer to Kenichi. "You see… you have something in your pants… and we want it now!"

"Eh?!" Kenichi's nose gushed out even more blood.

"If you lose any more blood Arai-kun, you are going to faint," Mutsumi said.

"But… hold on a second… what would Keitaro say about this?"

"There you are!" Motoko turned from a hallway and ran toward Kenichi. "Stop running away or you are going to make me angry!"

"Ahh! I hate to see what she would be like when she's angry then." Kenichi told himself as he sprinted away.

****************************************

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning. Not a single cloud was seen in the bright blue sky. The weather was not too hot nor was it too cool. In the town, many people were out shopping and having a good time. Two people were especially enjoying their time together outside as they walked along the market hand in hand.

"We don't get that much time to simply walk and shop together, do we Narusegawa?" a happy Keitaro asked.

"Yeah… we should do this more often." Naru placed leaned her head against Keitaro's shoulder. "Wipe that grin off your face! People will think that I'm walking with a pervert."

"Haha, really? I'm hurt by that comment, Narusegawa," Keitaro said sarcastically.

"Really? Fine… I'll buy you an apology gift." She walked up to one of the stores and looked for something in the anime section.

"I was just kidding. You really don't have to buy me a gift"

"I know you were joking dummy." She picked up a Liddo-kun plush action doll and paid the cashier. "I just feel really happy right now."

Naru gave the doll a big hug and then handed it to Keitaro. Keitaro was speechless and blushed a deep red as he accepted the doll.

"Besides, how cute would I be if I didn't buy my special guy something every now and then?" Naru asked.

"You would still be cute," Keitaro said as he leaned over and kissed Naru on the cheek.

"Keitaro…"

"Mama! I want a new toy!" A little girl asked her mom as she ran to the toyshop. Her mother quickly grabbed a hold of her and gently pulled her away.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but mama doesn't have the money for it right now."

The little girl turned toward her mom and tried to reason with her. "But mama, I've been really good… lately… and… I…. Waahh!"

"This is really sad, isn't it Keitaro?" Naru asked.

Keitaro looked at Naru with an apologetic face. He walked ahead toward the two. He crouched down until he was around the same height as the little girl.

"Hi there! I'm a little old to play with dolls, so do you want mine?"

The girl was reluctant at first but slowly took the doll away from Keitaro's hand. 

"Thank you mister," she said politely.

"It's alright. Just don't cause any more trouble for your mama and always be a good girl, okay?"

Keitaro stood up again and looked at the mother. "She can have the doll if it makes her happy."

"Thank you… thank you very much kind sir," the mother said. "You are so very kind."

She looked at Naru who was in shock the whole time. "Miss… you have a very special gentleman here."

Naru snapped out of her shock and smiled. Wrapping Keitaro's arm with her own, she snuggled closer to him. "I know… I know."  

****************************************

On this certain morning and particular day, a young man could be seen running around the hallways of Hinata-sou.

"Why is this happening to me?" Kenichi asked himself while running. "Sure I took a peek at Aoyama, but that was an accident. I didn't do anything wrong to the other girls so why are they chasing me?"

"Kenichi!" Kaolla yelled. "You're not getting away that easily! Sara hand me my large laser gun."

"But they are all big!"

"Just grab the largest one then!"

"You grab it! It's too big for me."

"But I'm the one hunting down Kenichi!"

"So am I, remember?"

As the two girls continued arguing Kenichi managed to get away without getting shot. "Where is Keitaro when you need him?!"

"Myuu myuu." Tama flew in from a window and was flying alongside Kenichi.

"You can fly too, little buddy? I'm impressed!"

"Myuu myuu."

"What's that? Go this way? Wait a second… I'm talking to a turtle?"

He quickly thought of all the situations since he came to Japan. Especially the time spent at Hinata-sou. 

"Why am I not surprised?"

He turned toward the direction Tama was telling him to go.

"I hope you're right little buddy"

The secret passage that he went into led him into the dining hall. Not wanting to be chased anymore Kenichi dashed for the hallway leading towards the exit.

"Shinobu-chan!" Kenichi yelled excitedly as he sees her in front of the exit. "Thank goodness you're here.

He ran up and hugged Shinobu. "You will not believe what every… *BONK*"

Kenichi's head tilted to his side as a frying pan from Shinobu's hand made impact.

A frightened Shinobu dropped the frying pan and began to speak very quickly and incoherently. "You shouldn't have come so close and I get nervous when guys get close and I hit you, but I didn't want to and…"

Shinobu stopped talking and ran away weeping.

"Hold on Shinobu! I am not angry at…" Kenichi stopped half way through his sentence when he saw whom Shinobu ran behind.

"So you have made Shinobu cry." Motoko was standing with a resolute face. No anger was displayed, but that wasn't assuring for Kenichi. He got even more nervous when all of the other girls came in the room and stood alongside Motoko.

'_Why me?_'

****************************************

A gentle summer breeze warmed the air around the park. Keitaro and Naru were under a tree, enjoying each other's company. The warm inviting air was not enough to keep them separated. Keitaro was lying down, his head on Naru's lap. He looked up and admired Naru's beautiful face. He noticed that Naru was studying the scenery. He decided that it was the best possible moment to ask such a question.

"Naru… would you like to… try 'it' again?"

Naru changed moods quickly. She took in the question and realized what Keitaro was suggesting. The situation was perfect for it she thought. He would have to be an idiot not to ask. She couldn't do it today though. Although they have been together for so long, she didn't know how she should tell him that. Thoughts swirled her head as she tried to decide on an appropriate choice of action.

Keitaro saw Naru's hesitation. He loved her and was pretty sure she felt the same for him. Whatever reasons Naru had against doing 'it' right now were probably good ones.

'_I won't force her,_' he thought. '_Our love is more then that._'

"Actually I'm pretty hungry Narusegawa," he said. "How about we postpone this one more time and go back to Hinata-sou and eat."

Naru looked at Keitaro and gave him a warm, gentle smile. 

'_The idiot,_' she thought. '_He can be so lovable sometimes._'

"Hey wait!" Naru yelled. "How come we have to go back to Hinata-sou to eat? Can't you treat me to a lunch after what I bought you?"

"Ah… I would but… I'm broke again."

"What? That's not fair! Keitaro, where are you running? Come back here!"

****************************************

"You can't run anymore, Arai," Motoko said passively. "You don't understand the situation here. Just give us what we want and everything will be okay."

'_Haha… she's funny isn't she… in a cruel way._' Kenichi thought as he pictured Motoko cutting off his head. He was on the edge of the roof. It was true that he had no way of running anymore. His options were quite limited he thought. He could stay and give Motoko what she wanted or he could take his chances and jump off.

"It's not a difficult choice once you think about," Kenichi said out loud. He turned away from Motoko and looked down.

"Wait Arai!" Motoko yelled. "Don't do something so foolish!"

Keitaro turned halfway to give Motoko a grin. "Well if you were me and I were you then this wouldn't seem so foolish now would it?" He faced the ground again and leapt off the roof.

"NO!" Motoko screamed. She put away her sword and jumped in pursuit of Kenichi.

'_Arai you fool,_' she thought. '_It wasn't my intent to hurt you._'

Everyone else was on the roof, witnessing the whole scenario from a far.

"I can't believe he jumped like that," Shinobu cried.

"Maybe Kenichi is immortal like Keitaro," Kaolla suggested.

"I doubt it," Mitsune said. "Maybe he can take a hit, but no one else could be like Keitaro. Maybe he will just break a bone or two."

"Hey! What are you girls doing on the roof?" Keitaro yelled from the ground.

"I think something happened while we were away," Naru said to Keitaro.

"I agree… hey Motoko… what are you looking for?"

"He jumped… and I followed… but he's not were he should be… Where did he…?"

"Slow down Motoko," Keitaro said. "Now tell us what happened with…"

"KEITARO!" Kenichi jumped out from a secret hiding space. He ran toward Keitaro and tried to hide himself behind Keitaro.

"She's been trying to kill me! Do something about it! She's nuts!"

Motoko was furious that Kenichi misunderstood the circumstances. More importantly, he insulted her. Her rage began to build as she looked at Kenichi's pathetic attempt to hide. "You stupid…"

"Motoko, the picture!" The others shouted as they ran toward her.

"Motoko, what picture?" Naru asked.

"He has a picture of someone like you inside his wallet!" Kaolla yelled.

"Oh… do you mean this picture?" Kenichi pulled out the picture from his wallet. He looked at the picture and hesitated before handing it over to the girls.

"She does look like Naru," Mitsune said.

"I think she looks more like my sister, Mei-chan," Naru stated.

"It's neither." Everyone looked back at Keitaro.

"What do you mean Keitaro?" Sara asked.

"This picture is of my sister," Kenichi said.

He took back the picture and placed it in his wallet. His muscles were tired from the running, so he went to a rock and sat on it. He gazed at a nearby cherry blossom tree.

"My sister's name is Arai Sakura. She was born very sick. The doctors did not know how long she would live. So my loving parents named her Sakura, the short cherry blooming festival that occurs here in Japan every spring. Miraculously our combined love and compassion gave her the will to stay alive. Since that time I would always try to keep a picture of her in my wallet."

Kenichi turned back to everyone. His eyes had little tears forming in the corner. Everyone was aware of the very private information that had just been revealed to them.

"She is very special to me. I'm sorry but if it is the picture you want I will not allow you to keep it."

Shinobu's eyes watered up as she listened to Kenichi's story. "That's got to be the sweetest thing I ever heard." She ran up to Kenichi and hugged his arm.

"Ahh?!" Kenichi was confused. "It's not that sweet if you think about it."

Kenichi's comment was enough to change the mood again as everyone began to laugh. '_He was always good at that,_' Keitaro thought. '_I think I made the right choice to let him stay here._' He looked around and saw that everyone was satisfied with the latest turn of events.

"Good thing we have this problem settled," he said. "So what's for lunch?"

"Ah! I haven't even started on it yet!" Shinobu yelled. She dashed off to the kitchen.

"Slow down Shinobu-chan. I'll help you." Kenichi ran after her.

"Let's go inside too," Mitsune suggested. "I have a feeling we should keep an eye on Kenichi's cooking."

"Hahaha," everyone laughed.

They all started to walk inside except Motoko. She went to the rock that Kenichi was on and sat down. Naru noticed this and walked toward Motoko.

"Are you alright Motoko-chan?"

"Yeah… I'm just a little tired from chasing Arai around."

"Alright, come back inside when you are done resting."

"I will, don't worry."

She looked at the tree and thought about what Kenichi had told them. 

"He has a younger sister," she said gently. "And he loves her very much too. Perhaps he loves his sister as much as I love my own."

"Don't you agree Tama-chan?" she said to the turtle on her shoulder.

"Myuu myuu."

"Tama-chan…? AIYEEEE!

End Episode 2

Author's Comments

I finally got episode 2 up! I had this done over a week ago but for some reason I really hated it. Thank you beta-readers! After getting their opinions was I able to understand what went wrong. Now I shall explain why I am writing this series. After seeing all of the Love Hina anime and reading all of the manga, I felt really sad that it was all over. I wanted… no… I NEEDED more! That is when I went online to look for LH fanfics. Most of the stuff I read was really well done, but I wasn't satisfied. (btw all of this was happening around Christmas 2001) That is when the idea of writing Love Hina Once More popped up in my head. There was a problem… what should I write about? Keitaro and Naru's relationship was pretty solid, and any separating and restoring of the couple would be repetitive (IMO it was already done WAY too much in the manga). Left without a plot to work with I started watching other anime series. Without a doubt, Kare Kano (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou) influenced the idea of introducing a new character. The people behind Kare Kano were geniuses to be able to add new characters and make the plot work around them. So there you have it. My reason to write! No silly question this time ^_^ Hopefully I will get Episode 3 online soon.


	3. Dirty Acts from a certain couple

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

I would like to once again thank those people who put up with this garbage on a regular basis now: One Man Cult, TheArchimage, and dementedchris. You guys live the busiest of lives and yet you still read this! ^_^  Flames, criticism, and Kenichi-hatemail can be sent to: ia_si@hotmail.com

Episode 3 – Dirty Acts from a certain couple

It started off as a normal day. On such days, the residents of Hinata-sou would relax and enjoy each other's company. Since the summer had finally arrived, the air was warm and inviting. The soft, gentle aroma of life floated in the breeze. Just outside the inn, Keitaro, Naru and Kenichi were having an enjoyable time talking. Keitaro and Naru told of their many adventures together, while Kenichi told them of his numerous high school stories. At that moment, life at Hinata-sou seemed simple.

"No way did that really happen to you, Kenichi."

"I think he told me that one already, Naru," Keitaro said.

"Haha… it seems unlikely, but it really did happen!" Kenichi exclaimed.

It had only been three days since Kenichi was allowed to become a temporary resident. At first it was a very troublesome issue with the current residents, but as the days passed they became more accepting of Kenichi into their home.

"Good morning you guys!" Noriyasu Seta greeted as he walked toward the inn. "How is everyone today?"

The three of them turned toward the direction of their long time friend and mentor. What they saw made them wonder.

"Seta-san, what is wrong with you?" Naru asked in a worried manner. "You look like a zombie! I have never seen you so tired before."

"What are you talking about Naru-chan?" Seta asked. "I don't look like a zombie, do I?"

He quickly fixed his posture and straightened his clothes. He took out a cigarette and began to light it up.

"I guess it may be because lately, I have been up kind of late," Seta said. "These nights Haruka-chan and I have been…" *BAM*

"What were you planning to tell them?!" Haruka yelled as she sent Seta flying with one of her strongest punches. She looked at the three who were in shock and sighed. "He just hasn't been able to sleep lately so don't mind him."

Her expression quickly changed from annoyance to her usual passive look. She crossed her arms and walked away. Keitaro, Naru and Kenichi were left wondering what just unfolded before them. Naru was the first to speak.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't really know myself," Keitaro replied.

"I think I know!"

The three of them looked towards the direction of the voice. On cue Konno Mitsune came out with a sneaky look on her face.

"You were eavesdropping on us, weren't you, Kitsune?" Naru asked in a displeased manner.

"Hehe… I was hoping to see something happen between you three," Mitsune said. "Seta and Haruka are becoming more interesting though."

"That's pretty sneaky of you, Mitsune-san," Kenichi commented.

"Sneaky like a…"

"KITSUNE!" Kaolla yelled. "Shinobu says that there's a phone call for you!"

'_For me?_' Mitsune thought. '_Who could it be?_'

****************************************

"FIRED?!"

The person on the other side of the phone must have been covering their ears as Mitsune screamed. She was the type of person who would float from job to job, quitting whenever it did not suit her anymore. But actually getting fired was a whole new experience for her. Realizing that arguing would not get her anywhere she slammed the phone down and walked away. It had started off as such a good day for her. Watching Seta and Haruka fight was very enjoyable in her odd world. But now that she didn't have a job anymore, she would have to go out and find another one.

'_Blaah… that's the problem with being such a freelancer,_' she thought. '_Searching for new jobs all the time is a big hassle._'

She began to slouch around. Usually when something fun was happening she would be energetic and alert. The idea of job hunting took away all of her energy.

'_Maybe I should eat something first,_' Mitsune thought as she headed toward the kitchen. '_Sounds like Kenichi is joking around with Shinobu again._'

In the kitchen Mitsune saw Shinobu and Kenichi laughing at what was probably another one of Kenichi's tales. She took a quick look at Kenichi and thought of a devious plan.

"Hey Kenichi…" Mitsune said in a seductive manner. "Do you want to help me?"

"Sure thing Mitsune-san, what do you need help…eh?!" Kenichi yelped as Mitsune grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along with her.

****************************************

"I'm tired Mitsune…" Kenichi whined.

"Fine, we can sit down here." Mitsune said as she headed toward a bench. The two of them were now in downtown Hinata, a growing marketplace filled with commuters of all ages. It was an area where train-goers would pick something up or eat before they would continued on to with their destinations. It was the perfect place to find a job.

Kenichi sighed as he looked at a clock.

'_We went to twenty job openings so far in the last two hours,_' he thought. '_And she rejected every single one of them. It is hot and humid, and to top it all off… Shinobu was supposed to bake me a cake this afternoon._'

"What are you sighing about?" Mitsune said in a prying manner.

"I wouldn't be sighing if you only took one of the job openings from earlier," Kenichi replied with a very annoyed look. "Why didn't you even consider any of them?"

"I have my own personal reasons…"

"Like what?"

"Break's over! Why are we wasting time? Let's go get me a job!"

Mitsune jumped up and started to dash away. Before she could go too far, Kenichi grabbed her arm.

"Hold on a second, Mitsune-san," he said out loud. Mitsune turned around and looked at him. She had never really studied him before. His eyes gave off a brief flicker of emotion.

'_What was it that I just saw?_' Mitsune wondered. '_Was it fear? Pain?… or something else?_'

"What… is it that you want to say, Kenichi?"

"It's just…" Kenichi looked sheepishly as he continued. "I really am tired and… I want to know why you have rejected all the other jobs!" He yelled the last part out.

"What?!" Mitsune was surprised by his sudden change in demeanor. '_This guy is really odd._'

"Since you must know… I worked at all those places already" she replied.

"You have?!" Kenichi shouted in shock. "How? What?"

"I easily get bored with my jobs."

"Why did I even bother asking?" Kenichi said with a defeated attitude. "Want to go get a drink? It'll be on me…"

"Sure!" Mitsune exclaimed. '_Hmm… this situation is starting to turn into… a date. I am enjoying this._'

As the two of them walked by an ice cream shop, Mitsune took a glance of her reflection in the window.

'_I'm not looking bad at all today,_' she thought. '_Although I am only wearing a plain pair of pants and a t-shirt; the look I got going on should make him think about 'it' at least once or twice._' She giggled at her own dirty thoughts. '_I am so naughty today… this is turning out to be a lot of fun._'

"Hurry up would you?" Kenichi shouted. "I'm getting really tired… oh hey there!"

Approaching them were Motoko and Sara. Motoko wore casual clothes for once, yet her expression suggested that she wasn't enjoying where she was very much. She easily stood out among the crowd with her spring green dress. 

"Hey, Motoko," Mitsune greeted. "What are the two of you doing together?"

"Hello, Mitsune-san. I promised Seta-san that I would take Sara out today." Motoko turned to face Kenichi. "Uhh… hello, Arai-san."

Kenichi blushed as Motoko greeted him so respectfully. "You don't have to say the honorific part Aoyama… I'm not really used to them. Umm… you look really… pretty today…"

"What?" Motoko shouted. "I don't need to hear this from you! I was just trying to be polite!"

"I just think you should wear a dress more often…"

"Quiet now or else!"

*Sigh* "Kenichi-kun, you shouldn't mess around with girls like that." Mitsune took Kenichi's arm in hers and rested her head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing, Mitsune?!" Kenichi said in a startled manner.

"You two look awfully close for two people that met only three days ago," Sara commented.

"No, that's not it at all," Kenichi said as he faced Motoko.

"Why are you telling me? I don't care!"

"What? Oh I know that… it's just…"

"Stop talking. Your excuses are annoying me."

"I am not trying to excuse myself!"

"Then why are you still talking?"

"Hold on a second, Aoyama…" 

Motoko began to walk away. Kenichi, not satisfied with how things are happening followed Motoko. Sara saw the opportunity and stuck her foot out. Kenichi didn't see it and fell against Motoko. *BAM* 

"Idiot," Motoko shouted as she punched Kenichi. "Stupid pervert!"

****************************************

"Hmmm, so Kenichi left with Kitsune," Keitaro said to himself. He had been doing his managerial duties ever since morning. He wiped his brow as he finished cleaning the last hallway. He knew he needed the exercise and so he didn't hesitate in allowing Kenichi to go out.

'_It will probably do him good to get to know her,_' Keitaro thought.

After a quick bath he went back to his room to study a bit. His marks really hadn't been high lately. The thought of what Naru would do if she knew made him shiver. But as soon as he got out his books and pencil he felt tired.

"Old habits never really die," Keitaro said as he lay down and thought of taking a nap. *Sniff sniff* "What's that smell?"

He looked around and immediately recognized a pile of dirty clothes. Some of which were probably Kenichi's. Placing all the dirty clothing into a basket, Keitaro headed out for the laundry room. He looked at the work he still had ahead of him and sighed.

"A manager's work is never finished."

But Keitaro was surprised as he walked into the laundry room. Naru was already there in her intimates as she washed her clothes.

"Ahh… I'm sorry, Narusegawa!" Keitaro yelled as he started to head out.

"Oh wait Keitaro!" Naru quickly dashed out at him and gave him a light tackle. Keitaro fell down with Naru on top of him.

"I am really sorry Narusegawa. I didn't know you were washing your clothes." He blushed as he felt Naru's slim body on his. Her chest was pushed against his own. The sensation was overtaking him.

"Keitaro…"

"Wha… your blushing Naruse…"

"Don't speak," Naru told him. "I was thinking of what Seta and Haruka have been up to and… And I think that I am ready to try 'it' again."

"What?" He wasn't prepared to hear such things. With Naru's 'warmth' against him and the gentle way she spoke, he felt a vast amount of blood gush out of his nose.

"Ahh Keitaro, do I have to keep on cleaning up after you?"

As much as Keitaro's perverted side tried to take control, the scenario was unreal to him. He picked himself off the ground and continued his way out of the laundry room. Seeing this, Naru quickly went after him again. She reached out and grabbed a hold of his pants, taking them down in the progress. Her force this time was a little too much and the two of them fell out of the room. As they came back to their senses they saw Shinobu right beside them. Her eyes were teary and she held her arms close to her body.

"Keitaro-senpai and Naru-senpai are doing 'that'…. Wahh!"

"This isn't what it looks like Shinobu-chan," Keitaro yelled as he chased after Shinobu.  
"Hold on Keitaro! You shouldn't be chasing little girls with your pants down like that!"

****************************************

'_This day keeps on getting worse and worse,_' Kenichi told himself. After several hours Kenichi and Mitsune still hadn't made any real progress. All they had to show for their efforts were several outfits that Mitsune had bought using Kenichi's money. He thought about it and nothing made much sense to him. '_How was she able to swindle me into buying her clothing?_' he asked himself. He was getting more tired and cranky, and decided that he needed a diversion of some kind.

"Shouldn't we be looking for a job for you?"

"Maybe…" Mitsune giggled. "Okay, we will go back to the job search after one more store."

"What?"

"Don't worry, you will like this next one." She looked at him and a genuine amused look broke across her face. '_This guy is such a sucker for a pretty face._'

Kenichi followed Mitsune as she went into a store. His tiredness got the better of him and he leaned over as he walked. The laughter that was quickly spreading across the store did not catch Kenichi's attention. It wasn't until after several aisles did he realize what kind of store he was in.

"Why the hell are we here?!" he shouted out loud. "I… I… I can't believe you would take me into a place like this!"

"It's only a women's underwear store," Mitsune said. "You don't have to get so offensive about it."

"Cotton underpants and bras I can see as underwear, but this…" He picked up a stringy-thing. "How the hell would someone wear this?!"

"Oh you like?" Mitsune snatched the lingerie piece from his hand and ran off to a change room. "I'll be right back… honey…"

Her last comment sent a dozen female customers giggling. Kenichi, realizing that he was the one being laughed at, tried to hide his blushing face. He was just about to leave when Mitsune came out of the change room and showed off the exotic piece.

"So what do you think?"

"Waah!" Kenichi quickly got a nose bleed as he looked at the sensational garment.

"I thought so!" Mitsune said. "Let's go pay for this."

On the way to the check out counter Kenichi tried to hide himself behind Mitsune. The embarrassment he had was growing as the ladies in each aisle eyed him.

"A sexy man like you shouldn't hide behind a feeble, yet attractive girl like me," Mitsune teased.

"I find this to be very uncomfortable thank you very-"

"Hey Mitsune!"

Kenichi looked at the direction of where the voice was coming from. He saw two guys, both of them wearing glasses. One was taller then the other.

"It's been such a long time since we saw you, Mitsune-san!" the shorter one stated.

"And your beauty has doubled since that time," the taller one said.

"Ahh… you guys are so good with your words," Mitsune said while acting in a false manner. "Besides, it hasn't been more then a week since I have seen you two."

"Yes it may have been a week," the tall guy said. "But it has been a very long week before we got to see you again."

"What the…?" Kenichi muttered. "Who are these guys Mitsune?"

"I am Haitani."

"And my name is Shirai."

"And who are you?!" the two guys shouted as they tried to glare him down. "You better not be Mitsune's boyfriend!"

"Haha… oh boys, Kenichi here is not my boyfriend." She placed herself between them and placed her arms around the two. "But why are you boys here? You wouldn't be following me around now would you?"

"Uhh… we're here because we are buying some special clothing for some special ladies we know," Haitani stuttered.

"Ohh… is that the truth?" Mitsune asked as she pushed herself against Shirai.

"Ahh… ahh… NO it's not true!" Shirai admitted. The sensation overwhelmed his resistance. "We're actually here to buy them because we like wearing them at home!"

*BAM BAM* "Why the hell are you telling them?!" Haitani shouted as he attacked Shirai.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't take the pressure!"

"Hahaha… you boys are too much!" Mitsune was on the floor laughing.

Kenichi was in shock. The event that just happened in front of him seemed unreal. His expression slowly changed from stun into amusement.

"Haha… I think I know who you guys are now."

****************************************

The normal day had changed. No longer was there a pleasant atmosphere all around. Naru was troubled by her actions. Her spine sent a chilly feeling as she realized what she had tried to do.

'_I nearly pushed Keitaro into doing 'it',_' she thought. '_He wasn't ready right then but I pushed myself on him anyway._'

She looked around her room. After the incident she had cleaned up her rooms several times over. He was constantly in her mind.

'_Just because Seta-san and Haruka-san are at that level doesn't mean…_' She took her Liddo-kun into her arms. '_I do love you Keitaro… but I want to prove it to you._'

She stood up and went to her little bookcase. Secretly hidden was a little book that contained her newest and most cherished pictures. They were the new photo-stickers that she and Keitaro have been taking on their latest dates.

'_He does love me, right Liddo-kun?_' She nodded the doll in agreement to herself. '_He must love me…_'

*Sigh* "Being here won't help me get rid of my worries," Naru said. "Mutsumi-san always says that a hot bath will clear the mind of trouble."

She took one last look at the photo-stickers and returned them to their secret spot. She began to change out of her clothes. A smile broke across her face as she thought how Keitaro would always show up at times like this.

'_I can't face him now though,_' she thought. '_A bath would be good…_'

"Hey, Narusegawa!" Keitaro burst into the room. "Shinobu baked a cake… Ahh! Oh no not again!"

'_I've got to get out of here,_' Keitaro thought. '_She hasn't been acting herself today._'

"Hold on a second, Keitaro." Naru grabbed a hold of Keitaro's hand. A strange silence followed afterwards. "Keitaro… do you love me?"

The pain that appeared on Keitaro's face made Naru wince. It was as though several arrows had struck him.

"Naru… what is wrong with you today?" he asked seriously.

"Keitaro…" Tears began to stream down Naru's face. "… do you love me?"

"How can you ask-"

"Shh…"

Naru got closer to Keitaro and then she hugged him. Keitaro looked down and below Naru's shirt he saw her panties. His face blushed a maddening red colour as he felt her body beside his. After one minute passed, Naru got up and walked away from Keitaro. She walked toward the side of her room toward a poster. Keitaro watched as she tore the poster down.

"Uh oh… it looks like we got caught, turtle lady."

"Ara ara"

"Kaolla, Mutsumi… what are you doing spying on us?" Naru said in an angry tone.

"Ara, you and Keitaro-kun got so close that time too," Mutsumi said cheerfully.

****************************************

Kenichi slightly opened up his eyes. As soon as they got on the train for home, he sat down and pretended to fall asleep. It was a good idea at the time. He was very tired from the job searching and from Mitsune in general. Although he wasn't tired enough to sleep, he didn't want Mitsune to pester him anymore. Even when he was pretending to be asleep, Mitsune would not leave him alone. He felt the side of Mitsune's chest against his arm as she rested against him. He took a quick peek at her.

'_She can be awfully cute if she tried,_' Kenichi thought. _'… Not to mention her other assets… But she did scam me into buying her stuff!_'

"You're not really sleeping now are you?" Mitsune asked slyly.

"Just as much as you are." Kenichi gave out a sigh.

Looking at Kenichi now made Mitsune remember what she saw in his eyes earlier. The emotions in his eyes were now gone. In its place was a dull, passive off-brown gaze.

'_He is awfully attractive though…_' she thought. '_Kind of like Seta…no… different from Seta and Keitaro._'

"Kenichi…"

"Yes, Mitsune-san?"

"No, drop the honorific… I'm not that much older then you." Mitsune grinned a bit at what she just said. "Kenichi… did you ever have a girlfriend?"

Kenichi, with shock, blushed and looked away. The question was harmless enough but Mitsune saw the emotions from his eyes again.

'_He must have an interesting history,_' she thought. '_Should I be trying to pry into it?_'

"No I never really had a girlfriend," Kenichi answered.

"What?! Surely you must have broken the hearts of at least a dozen girls! Heck I, myself, have-"

"That's the truth, Mitsune. There was always a problem… haha… it would surely bore you so let's drop the subject."

His expression shielded his inner thoughts. Mitsune realized that she wasn't able to ask much more about it. As knowledgeable as she was, Kenichi's true personality was a complete mystery to her.

'_I will find out more about you, Kenichi,_' Mitsune thought. She gave Kenichi a tiny smile. '_No matter how long it will take, I will find out more about you._'

"Ah! What are you doing, Mitsune?" Kenichi was startled to see Mitsune take his hand and placed in on her chest.

"Can you feel how fast my heart is beating?" Mitsune thought over where this could lead to. _'I actually have a better plan in mind._'

"Mitsune… I don't think… I… should be…"

"Good! The deal is done."

"What?"

"One grope means that you owe me one favour!"

Kenichi stood up and complained. "What?! How? You set me up!" 

"How did I set you up?" Mitsune giggled. "You thought that I wanted 'that' from you?"

"Yes… I mean NO… well actually…"

"Ah! Pervert!" Mitsune yelled. "You shouldn't be thinking such thoughts in public!"

"What choice did I have?!"

Several large men walked toward them. Their eyes glared at Kenichi. Their muscles tightened at each passing second.

"This man is a pervert, guys! Let's get him!"

*BAAAM BAM BAM*

After a quick beating the men left Kenichi and Mitsune alone. Mitsune looked at Kenichi's bruised up body. It surprised her to actually see him injured for once. She almost had the impression that he could've been stronger then Keitaro.

"Next stop… Hinata-sou," The train operator announced.

"C'mon, let's get you out of here," Mitsune said. "I'm sorry I got you beaten up. You're not too hurt right?"

Kenichi's head picked up and glared at Mitsune. "Oh yes! I am perfectly fine! Thank you very much!"

'_At least he hasn't lost his sense of humour,_' Mitsune thought.

****************************************

The night was enchanting. A full moon was out and there was a cool summer breeze. The stars were bright in the dark sky. The light from the sky met with the light from the town. Sounds of life were gently heard throughout. A young man was taking it all in from his rocky seat. He gazed at the moon. To him, the moon meant so very much. For a large part of his life, he had wished upon it to take away his loneliness. Summers nights bothered him a great deal because they would always remind him of the emptiness he had felt for twenty years of his life. Only in the last three years was he able to look at the moon in a different manner. His life was 'filled' now, with new friends that he only could have wished for once. He thought of his significant other. She was worried that he may not love her. It bothered him for he could feel nothing less than love for her. He looked at the moon for agreement. It had blessed him with such a beautiful partner for life. Although the two of them wanted to speed up their relationship, he knew that it must be done one step at a time. It was what he always wanted.

"Keitaro… may I join you?"

"Of course you can Narusegawa…" He looked at her and thought about what had happened over the course of the day. "I hope you don't mind me asking… why have you been acting so odd today?"

Naru walked toward the rock that Keitaro was sitting on. She slowly climbed the rock and sat down right between Keitaro's legs, her back to his front. She looked up to see the beautiful night.

"I… only wanted for you to prove your love for me… like Seta-san has done with Haruka-san."

Inside Keitaro knew that she was going to say that. He could sense the worry coming from Naru. The question didn't bother him though. For once in his life he knew what he was to say. He placed his arms around her and held her closely. She was the most important person to him and he hoped she felt that from his embrace. He took in her beautiful fragrance and prepared himself to say what he must.

"Naru… I don't know whether or not Seta-san and Haruka-san did that sort of thing nor will I deny that they could have. They're a married couple and that's what married couples should do. I love you Naru, with all my heart and soul. We don't need to prove our love for each other. Even if we must wait until we are married to do 'that' then I would not mind. If I could… I would hug you here for all of eternity."

"Keitaro…" Naru turned around and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with tears. "Idiot… since when could you speak like that?"

"Narusegawa… it was easy to find the words to speak… because it is what I feel in my heart."

Naru wiped away her tears. All troubled feelings that had been inside her had been carried away with the wind. She took off Keitaro's glasses. His eyes reflected the light of the moon. With out hesitation she passionately kissed Keitaro. She felt his lips accepting the kiss and returning it with a little more. Intimate was the only word that went through her mind. The warm feeling she was receiving from Keitaro made her dizzy but she enjoyed every moment of it. After what was thought to be a long time the two broke off their embrace for air.

"You have gotten much better, Keitaro."

"Thank you… ACHOO!"

"Ah! You just sneezed all over me!" 

Disgusted Naru jumped off the rock and walked away. She was furious at the turn of events.

"Idiot! How could you ruin the moment like that?"

"I'm sorry, Narusegawa!" Keitaro said while following her. "The smell from your hair made me sneeze."

"What?! So you're telling me that I sicken you?!"

"No! Wait! Ahh…" *SLAM*

 ****************************************

*Sigh* "Those two got really close that time."

Shortly after leaving the bus, Mitsune and Kenichi found themselves spying on Keitaro and Naru. 

"What are these things and why are we wearing them?!" Kenichi shouted at Mitsune.

"These are Su's Invisibility Suits Mark three. They turn the wearer invisible by duplicating the environment around them. It's kind of like camouflage. They will make our task much easier."

"Task? What task? I thought you only wanted to peep on Keitaro and Naru." Kenichi looked away from Mitsune. "Besides if you wanted my help you should've just asked me instead of tricking me like that."

*Giggle* "But it's more fun this way."

"Fine… let's go do whatever it is that you want to do and go back. I need to get something to eat."

Kenichi looked at Hinata-sou. His eyes tried to find the kitchen. His stomach grumbled as he thought of food. "I wonder if Shinobu would bake another cake tomorrow?" 

"No time for that." Mitsune stood up from her position and headed out. "Let's go!"

"Where are you going?" Kenichi asked as he followed.

"To the tea house."

"What?! You want to go peek on Seta and Haruka?!"

"Hehe… I've been wondering about it all day. Hurry up now!"

The two of them quickly dashed toward the Hinata Tea House. Leaving their invisible suits 'on' they slowly crept into the house. Checking to make sure that no one was around Mitsune led the way. Since she had worked at the teahouse for a period of time she knew all there was to know about the old building, even down to the 'secret' passages. They slowly made their way around.

"I take it that you know where they are," Kenichi whispered.

"Hehe… like a cat hunting down her mouse." Her eyes perked up as she heard something ahead. "Shh… we are getting closer."

They took several more turns and found themselves in a large air duct. Kenichi was surprised at the architecture.

"How the…"

"Hinata buildings are all designed with 'extras' for some reason. It makes this area that much more special."

"I think I see them… yeah they're in this room here."

The two of them looked through a grating and saw Seta sitting down with his legs crossed. Their eyes widened as they saw Haruka enter the room in a robe. Haruka stood against the door in a suggestive position. She walked toward Seta and brushed his head with her hands. She bent down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Should we be watching this?!" Kenichi scolded.

"Hush hush! It's getting to the good part!" Mitsune's complete attention was on the two ahead. Her eyes were wide open with excitement.

"I suppose you want to do it again, Haruka," Seta said.

"Yes… yes I do." Haruka replied with a blushing red face. "Please… turn it on."

"Eh?! I really don't think I should be watching this!"

"Quiet, Kenichi! We have to see what they are talking about…"

Seta took out a device from behind him. He pushed a button and a sound came from the corner. Haruka sat down beside Seta and rested her head against him. Several voices came from the corner and then a light. After several minutes laughter and music was heard. Seta and Haruka began to laugh. Gradually their laughter grew and grew until they were on the floor laughing hard.

"I don't believe it, Mitsune," Kenichi said. "They're watching a comedy movie together like a couple of kids. No wonder Haruka didn't want anyone to know. Mitsune? Where… are you all right? What are you doing on the floor?!"

End Episode 3

Author's Comments

Let's talk about sex! ^_^ If you are a true fan of Love Hina then you would be aware of the many sex-based jokes in LH. You know… the 'visual' jokes (especially involving our favourite protagonist, Keitaro).  I find that the jokes lose much of its 'flavour' in writing (especially my own!) and so in this episode I tried to introduce 'literary' jokes. With all modesty thrown out the window, I really liked this episode. I have an odd humour and I was constantly laughing at my own jokes. (maybe it's because I am a Canuck) Yeah, I'm a pathetic writer (laughing at my own jokes… sheesh!) _


	4. Mecha Tama v.7 / The Love of Urashima

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

Thanks go out to my beta-readers: One Man Cult, TheArchimage, and dementedchris. Special thanks go to those who continue to read and review! ^_^ You guys are the best!

Note: The episode is broken down into two parts, 'a' and 'b'. I did this because of the drastic change in tone between the two.

Episode 4a – Mecha Tama v.7

Within a cold, dark room there were two young girls hard at work. The sounds of sparks and shocks vibrated against the walls. A shining light broke the darkness, an indication of where the two workers were. The taller of the two took out a blowtorch, and then a laser pointer. She inspected an area of her creation; the results pleased her. She raised her protective mask and laughed a loud, booming laughter.

"HAHAHA… it's almost complete. The project is almost complete!" 

"Aren't you taking this whole thing a little too seriously Kaolla?" the shorter one asked.

"That is what you think, Sara!" Kaolla yelled. "This is my finest achievement yet! Just wait until everyone sees this!"

"It's beginning to look a little dangerous, Kaolla… Kaolla? Are you paying any attention to me?"

She tossed her head back and gave out an inhumane bellow. Her mad laughter filled the dark room. Sara, bewildered and frightened, backed away from her friend. The ferocious laughing continued, only harder and louder.

****************************************

"AHHHH!!!" Aoyama Motoko screamed. The strong light broke through her blinds, a sign that the morning had begun a while ago. A cold sweat drop rolled down her back. Her breathing was erratic and it echoed across her room. Her hand touched her cold forehead. Motoko closed her eyes and the vision came back to her.

"Oh god no!" she yelled again. "What… why am I seeing this again?"

Her thoughts trailed back to the meditation trance she had several days ago. She vividly saw the large beast and angel fight it out in her mind again. It was easy for her to imagine it because it was the nightmare she just had.

"Sister… if you were only here to help me." She thought about what she just said for a moment. "No, that wouldn't be good right now. My studies have not been faring well for me."

Motoko looked across the room to where she left all of her study books. She had gone through them several times over since her last failure to get into Toudai.

'_They're not enough though,_' She thought to herself. '_I should change and go shopping for some more books._'

An hour passed as she took her bath and dressed appropriately for going out. She decided on wearing something 'different' that was given to her by Mitsune. Her first thought when she looked into the mirror was what Keitaro would think. The belly revealing tank top and the low cut pants would be more then enough to get Urashima's fire burning. But shortly after thinking of Keitaro her thoughts floated on to Kenichi.

'_Oh no… what would that pervert think?_' she thought. '_I better go now while he could still be asleep._'

She quickly made her way out of her room and toward the doors leading out of Hinata-sou. Motoko stopped as a delightful smell caught her attention. The smell led her to the kitchen where she saw Shinobu carefully watching over the oven.

"What are you baking Shinobu-chan?"

"I am baking a cake…" Shinobu said as she turned to look at her. "AIYEE! You look so pretty today Motoko-senpai!"

Motoko blushed as the flattering comment settled in. She quickly fixed her composure and asked Shinobu a question.

"Do you know if either Keitaro or Arai are awake?"

"Yes I have, Arai-senpai has gone outside to the old playground with Mutsumi-san," Shinobu replied with a smile then focused her attention on the baking. "Urashima-senpai should be around here somewhere." 

"I'm right here."

Urashima Keitaro walked into the kitchen, his nose flared to take in the enchanting aroma. He wasn't paying much attention to the direction he was going and so he bumped into the door.

"Ouch… haha… it is still too early for me."

He rubbed the area on his shoulder that made contact with the door. His eyes focused again and finally noticed Motoko in front of him.

"WOW… Motoko… you look absolutely gorgeous today!"

It wasn't the reaction that Motoko was expecting. She expected him to do something perverted or make a pass of some kind. His genuine compliment made her fluster. Her face displayed a dark shade of red.

"Ahh… Thank you very much Urashima…" Motoko replied. She was very uncomfortable with the situation. Her flustering revealed that fact further.

*RING RING*

"Keitaro-senpai, could you please get that?" Shinobu requested.

Keitaro went out the kitchen toward the phone in the lobby.  He picked up the phone and held a conversation with the caller. Motoko and Shinobu left the kitchen to look at Keitaro. His face showed that he was pleasantly surprised from what he was hearing. Naru walked into the lobby and looked at Keitaro. A worried feeling developed within her as she listened to Keitaro's conversation.

"Yes… I understand… Yes… I will leave right away… Yes… I will see you soon… Good bye."

"Who was it, Keitaro?" Naru asked.

"Ah geez… It was my parents," Keitaro replied. "They miss me and wish to see me again. I will be leaving for a couple of days to visit them."

Keitaro made his way upstairs to get his stuff together. As soon as he made to the second floor Naru grabbed a hold of his hand.

"If you think I will let you go away again like this then you are crazy!"

"What?" Keitaro looked at her confused. "What do you mean, Narusegawa? My parents just requested that I go visit them."

"Not without me you're not!"

****************************************

"Amazing!" Kenichi exclaimed. "This place is incredible!"

His eyes took in the lovely scenery. A summer wind gently blew. The swings in front of him moved about as if possessed by spirits. Clouds spotted the blue, bright sky. He took in the air and it filled him with life-giving strength. He walked up toward the playground. The sand made a near-silent noise as he stepped on it. The slide gave off a glint of sunlight.

"Ara… You really like this place don't you Arai-kun?" Mutsumi said as she watched him.

"Yes… yes I really do," Kenichi answered. "It reminds me of my own childhood."

"Ara… it does for me too…"

Mutsumi looked at the sandbox that meant so much to her. A tear of happiness formed in the corner of her eye as a flood of memories came back to her.

"What's wrong Mutsumi-san?" Kenichi asked her in a caring manner.

"Oh! It's nothing!" Mutsumi wiped her face quickly. Her expression then changed into her usual happy, giddy smile. "Kenichi, what ever happened to Mitsune after last night?"

"Well… after Kitsune told everyone about the Haruka and Seta incident, Haruka found out and wasn't too happy." Kenichi suppressed a smirk as he told her the last part. "Haruka sent Kitsune off to do some 'chores'. Haven't heard from her since yesterday night."

"Ara… really? I guess she does tend to talk too much."

"Haha… yeah it seems that way."

The two of them sat down under a tree near the playground. A tree flower fell down on to Kenichi's face, which caused Mutsumi to giggle. Kenichi looked at the amused Mutsumi and laughed as well. He grabbed the flower and looked at it.

"It is very pretty isn't it?" Mutsumi asked.

"Yeah…" Kenichi handed the flower to a surprised Mutsumi. She took it and then looked at Kenichi.

"It would look much prettier with you," Kenichi said with a smile.

"Kenichi…" Mutsumi rested her head on his shoulder. "You're a very nice person."

She got up and ran toward the swings.

"Let's go play on the swings Arai-kun! *Giggle* you can push me!"

Kenichi grinned and ran after her. The two of them raced toward the swings. Mutsumi jumped on one and started swinging slowly. Kenichi ran behind her and pushed her gently.

'_She really is something else,_' he thought. '_Although she is older then me, she seems very childlike. I guess that's what makes her so fun to be with..._'

He continued to push her and listen to her giggle in enjoyment. Kenichi was watching her closely when something caught his eye.

'_What the… she isn't… wearing any 'support'?!_'

His hand slipped and he missed a push. Mutsumi and the swing came back at him and slammed him in the nose. The force knocked him off his feet.

"Ara! My goodness! Are you okay Arai-kun?!"

"Haha… I'm okay. Just a little nosebleed…

Mutsumi was down on her knees, carefully tending to Kenichi's nose. She was right on top of him, her blouse exposing herself. Kenichi had a clear view of Mutsumi's chest. The sight caused a stream of blood to explode out of his nose.

"Ara ara! That must have been a harder hit then we anticipated."

"No! I'm fine, really!" Kenichi picked himself up and ran away from Mutsumi. He didn't see the side of the sandbox, which caused him to trip and fall into the sandbox.

"Arai-kun, you shouldn't hurt yourself like that." Mutsumi went over and helped Kenichi get up.

"Mutsumi-san…" Kenichi wiped away the blood from his nose and smiled at her. "You too, are a very nice person."

"Ara…" Mutsumi smiled back at Kenichi. "Let's go back inside for cake.

"Oh yeah! I forgot that Shinobu-chan was baking us a cake!" 

****************************************

"All men are PERVERTS!" Motoko shrieked as she climbed the stairs to Hinata-sou. It was near the end of the afternoon and she had just spent the better part of the day searching for the right study books. Instead of having a nice day to shop, she found herself fending off packs of hot-blooded men.

"This will definitely be the last time I am wearing this style of clothing. *Sigh* I even had to visit the police station after I smashed a groping pervert."

Motoko finally made it to the entrance of Hinata-sou. The shopping adventure drained all of her energy, which made the stair climb a little challenge.

"I could use a nice hot bath right now…" *KABOOM* "What was that?!"

She decisively went through the possibilities in her mind. 

'_Keitaro and Naru have gone to the Urashima's residence, and I met Seta and Haruka at the stores today. It can't be another fight between the couples then…_ '

Motoko looked at Hinata-sou and saw smoke coming from the side. She dashed into the lobby and found Kaolla and Sara on the ground, dirt-covered and coughing.

"Su-chan!" Motoko shouted. "What happened?"

*Cough cough* "It's all Kaolla's fault," Sara replied in Kaolla's place. "She made her latest Mecha Tama too strong and it disregarded her control."

"Mecha Tama 7 was supposed to play with Kenichi," Kaolla pouted.

"What do you mean that it is supposed to play with Arai?"

"AIYEEEE!!!"

Motoko ran toward the source of the scream. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she prepared herself for the worst. The voice was young and soft, and so Motoko knew who was in trouble.

"Shinobu-chan! Where are you?!"

She entered Shinobu's room and found a giant robot cornering Shinobu. Mecha Tama was huge compared to its prey. Shinobu screamed loudly when she saw Mecha Tama pull out a gigantic arm cannon.

"Cry of the Phoenix, 'DEMONIC FIST'!" Motoko stopped the onslaught of the mecha with a well-placed fist technique. It was not enough to cause any visible damage on it. She studied her opponent carefully. It's bulky arms and legs did not match its slim chassis. Its menacing demeanour sent a chill down Motoko's spine. She quickly ran toward Shinobu, snatched her and sprinted out of the room.

"Where is Arai, Shinobu-chan?!"

"Ahh… I asked him and Mutsumi to go grocery shopping an hour ago."

'_It is not Arai's fault then,_' Motoko thought. '_I'll have to settle this problem myself._'

Motoko looked back and saw the mecha closing in on them. Its propulsion engines allowed it to follow in quick pursuit. Motoko knew that it was only a matter of time before the mecha will be attacking her.

"Shinobu-chan, go get my sword in my room. I'll get its attention and draw it away from you."

Shinobu ran off to get Motoko's sword, the Hina Blade. Motoko turned around to face the mecha. Mecha Tama stopped only several metres away from Motoko. It began to engage its arm cannon.

"I won't let you hurt any of us! Cry of the Phoenix 'FINAL MOVE'!"

The 'Ki' attack caused the arm cannon to short circuit. Repairing mechanisms operated immediately on the broken arm while the mecha began to engage its other arm cannon. Not hesitating to find out what will happen, Motoko dashed toward the nearest window and jumped outside. Her many years of intense training provided the skills needed to land safely. The mecha followed right behind her. Its arm cannon shot off a plasma blast, Motoko easily dodging it.

"Senpai! Your sword!" Shinobu tossed the Hina Blade out the window. Motoko masterfully leaped into the air and caught the sword. She unsheathed it, preparing herself for combat.

"You will be defeated, robot! I will not allow you to further harm Hinata-sou and its residents! Hiken Hyatsu Karyouran!"

A flash of light went off within the mecha. As the 'Ki' attack approached it, a spherical light source was emitted from Mecha Tama. The 'Ki' attack bounced off the light source and came back to Motoko. She was so surprised that she barely avoided the attack.

"AHH! What is… this?! The attack was… reflected?"

"Motoko!" Kaolla yelled gleefully. "Don't forget that this is my best Mecha Tama yet!"

"STAY AWAY!" Motoko shouted. "It's too dangerous!"

Motoko studied the mecha again. Its full attention was on her. The mecha's arm cannon prepared for another plasma shot.

"I'll try something else… " Motoko dashed to the mecha. Once she was right beside it she performed another of her Shinmeiryu attacks. "Hiken Zankuusen!"

The attack knocked it down. Its propulsion engine ignited and it returned to its feet once more. Auto-repair systems performed their work across the body. A dark, evil light illuminated from its eyes. Motoko remembered that light; the light that was in her many visions for the last several days… The menacing appearance of the Mecha Tama penetrated her mind. Her body refused to react and her mind clouded up. 

"No… no… you are like that… that… beast…"  
  


****************************************

"Haha… so that's how the two of them finally got together," Kenichi laughed as he listened to Mutsumi's story. "It took a sister and a wild chase up to North Japan to get them to admit their feelings.

"Ara ara… and their kiss was very passionate," Mutsumi giggled.

The two of them walked side by side with hands full of groceries. Shortly after Kenichi engulfed the cake, Shinobu requested for him to go buy more ingredients for next time. Mutsumi offered to go with Kenichi to keep him company.

"We've been gone for two hours," Kenichi said. "I wonder if Aoyama and the others have returned. Eh? Why is there smoke coming from Hinata-sou?!"

Kenichi furiously ran up the stairs to the building. He listened carefully and heard a battle waging out on the east side of the property. Without thinking, he swiftly went to that area. The sight he witnessed made him cringe. Motoko was on lying lifelessly on the ground. Shinobu was right beside her, trying to tend to her wounds. Shinobu's eyes were filled with tears; her hair and clothes were a mess. When Kenichi approached the two, Shinobu jumped to her feet and ran toward him, giving him a sad hug.

"I heard an explosion… *sniff* and I tried to hide… *sniff* Motoko came and tried to stop it… but… "

She tried to keep herself under control, but as she ended the sentence, her emotions overwhelmed her. Shinobu buried her face into Kenichi's chest and cried. Kenichi placed his arms around Shinobu and gave her a comforting hug.

"It's okay Shinobu-chan… everything will be all right now."

He let her go and walked to Motoko. Kenichi dropped to his knees and quickly inspected Motoko of her injuries. He placed a hand on her cheek, and was answered with open eyes.

"Arai… for once I am scared. Ever since I met you… I've been having these dreams. There is a beast and a warrior and… *cough cough*"

Kenichi was puzzled by Motoko's message. Concern for her overwhelmed him. He fanatically asked her questions.

"Aoyama, what are you talking about? Why are you hurt? WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"Arai-senpai!" Shinobu yelled. "Kaolla made a powerful mecha and lost control of it. Motoko-senpai tried to defeat it."

"Where is it now?"

Shinobu quietly pointed. Kenichi looked at that direction and was shocked again by what he saw. Kaolla was fending off a ghastly mechanical creature in a cyber-combat suit. The mecha was partially destroyed, but the speed at which the mecha was moving proved that its systems were still operational. Kaolla attacked it with her combat suit, giant spheres of energy made impact with the mecha.

"Arai…" Motoko beckoned. "If you truly are… a student of Seta-san… then you must know some martial arts. The mecha is almost broken… just a little more… *cough cough* Should Su fall… you're our last hope… "

Her sincere plea startled Kenichi. He looked away from her, emotions revealing a secret he didn't want anyone to know.

"I… I'm sorry… I can't though… I can't fight… Not now… NOT EVER!" Kenichi screamed and tried to run away. Mutsumi placed herself in front of him to stop him.

"Arai-kun… you must be able to help us somehow…"

"I'm so sorry Mutsumi-san… but I really can't…"

His expression showed a mixture of emotions. His body was twitching and sweat fell from his forehead. From behind him he saw Motoko cough. A shrill came from Shinobu as blood came out of Motoko's mouth.

"Arai-senpai!" Shinobu pleaded. "Please help us!"

Kenichi looked at the ongoing battle between the mecha and Kaolla. A plasma blast shot out from the mecha's last arm. It made direct contact with Kaolla and took her down.

"Mutsumi… Shinobu… pick up Aoyama and run… AS FAST AS YOU CAN!"

They did as they were told and ran with Motoko. The mecha recognized Kenichi and took an attacking stance. Its propulsion engines sounded off and it charged at Kenichi. He looked away from the mecha for a moment and calmed his body. 

"Sakura… what will happen to me? It always seems that the world works against me… doesn't it?"

Kenichi opened his eyes wide and charged at the mecha. He raised his right fist up into the air and prepared to attack.

"Metsujin skill 'ENERGIE TITAN'!" A dark, black flame engulfed his fist and he placed the force directly into the midsection of the mecha. It exploded into many burning pieces; its head fell before Kenichi's feet. The light in his eyes slowly turned off.

"You did it, Kenichi!" Shinobu congratulated as she and Mutsumi approached him.

"STAY AWAY!" Kenichi bellowed. His expression was menacing and cold. He walked away from them; his movements were stiff and broken, like a man possessed.

"Kenichi-senpai…" Shinobu tried to run after him.

"No Shinobu-chan…" Mutsumi said quietly. "Something has… snapped… within him…"

Episode 4b – The Love of Urashima

"Well, this is my real home."

"Wow… I didn't expect it to be this big…" Naru stared in amazement the size of the house. It was situated in the middle of a fair-size estate. Plant life on the sides closed in the property from the outside.

"Haha… don't forget that my parents own the best bakery in all of Japan," Keitaro said as he headed to the front door. "I should warn you that my parents are… a bit odd."

*Ding dong*

"Don't worry about it Keitaro. I'm sure they're just as nice as you are."

The front doors opened to reveal Keitaro's parents. Keitaro's father was a tall thin man. His hair was kept short with gray strands indicating his age. Keitaro's mother was fairly shorter. She had a beauty and elegance that contradicted her middle age.

"Papa, mama, I'm home!" Keitaro exclaimed as he went up to embrace them.

"Keitaro, we are so happy to see you again!" Keitaro's father joyfully said. He quickly returned the embrace with a hug of his own. "It has been awhile."

"Keitaro dear… who is this young lady with you?" Keitaro's mother asked while she kissed her son.

"Oh!" Naru snapped to attention. "My name is Narusegawa Naru. It is a pleasure to finally meet you two."

"But Keitaro…" Keitaro's mom questioned. "What about going to Toudai and meeting that promised one?"

"What?" Naru shouted. "You haven't told your folks yet about us? About the promise?!"

"Haha… I seem to have forgotten." Keitaro scratched the back of his head. "Papa, mama… I have kept my promise and I am a Toudai student."

"Oh Keitaro!" Keitaro's mother cheered. "I, no, we are so proud of you!"

"So…" Keitaro's father began to say something. "This young, beautiful thing here must be the…"

Keitaro's mother raised her hand and struck him for the comment. "Hiroyuki! How many times have I told you not to speculate! And you are getting that 'look' again you old pervert!"

"Ahh! I'm sorry Miyako-chan! I am only trying to make sense of things… and I am NOT thinking of anything dirty, really!"

Keitaro dropped his head in embarrassment. Naru's face turned a bright red as she realized the trouble she had just caused.

"Where are my manners?" Hiroyuki apologized. "You two must have had a long trip. Come in and join us for dinner."

"Oh! Thank you very much… um…" Naru said. She began to wonder how she would refer Keitaro's parents as. Miyako saw the hesitation in Naru and quickly solved the problem.

"Just call us otousan and okaasan, Naru dear."

"Ah… are you sure? I mean… Keitaro and I aren't…"

"Just don't worry about it," Miyako said. "It would be easier this way. Let's go inside now."

****************************************

Keitaro and Naru sat down across from Keitaro's father and mother. Miyako politely excused herself to go get the rest of the meal ready in the kitchen. Keitaro took the opportunity to tell his father of life at Toudai; Naru corrected many of his tales.

"Wow!" Hiroyuki exclaimed. "I never got to go to university of any kind before. From the sound of things, you two must be having a wonderful time."

"Our first year had ended awhile ago…" Naru said. "Things got most interesting when Kanako-chan showed up…"

"Oh! That reminds me!" Hiroyuki shouted. "Kanako dropped by a while ago and left you a lot of clothing. I decided to leave it all in your room. You better go organize it all."

"That Kanako…" Keitaro smiled. "Thank you, papa. I'll quickly go right now."

Keitaro excused himself from the table and left Naru alone with Hiroyuki. Naru looked at Keitaro's father and saw him analyzing her. She became very nervous as his eyes moved up and down her body.

'_That old pervert,_' she thought. '_He is even worse then Keitaro._'

Hiroyuki fell back against his chair and sighed. His eyes closed and he prepared himself to say something important. Naru saw the sudden change and began to wonder about him.

"Otousan… are you all right?"

"Naru-chan… I don't know what you think of my wife and myself. Whatever it is that Keitaro has told you may or may not be true."

"What do you mean, Otousan?"

"First, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for always being there for Keitaro."

Naru fidgeted at his words. "I don't quite understand."

Hiroyuki smiled and sighed. "My wife and I love Keitaro very much. He was our only child and so we wanted the absolute best for him. When he wouldn't give up on a 'promise' he had made, we knew that we could do nothing more for him. Each time he failed to enter Toudai, we got very sad. No matter how badly we wanted happiness for him, it seemed as though he would not achieve it. That was when my mama, Hina, suggested that we tell Keitaro to leave the house. It seems that she knew that Keitaro would make his way to Hinata-sou."

Naru was fascinated by Keitaro's history that she never really thought about. Hiroyuki crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He smiled and continued on with what he had to say.

"Naru-chan… all along… it was because of you that Keitaro was able to make and follow his dreams. He has now grown up to be such a smart and daring young man."

The comment made Naru blush. She shook her head politely, denying any involvement with Keitaro's dreams.

"I never did anything, really… In fact, he must have made many promises because there is this one girl…"

"Promises are very important to the Urashima family, Naru."

His serious voice silenced Naru. His expression; however, still suggested that he was in a pleasant mood. Naru was interested in what he had to say next. Her eyes were wide open and were concentrated on Keitaro's father.

"Allow me to tell you of a promise that I had made when I was little. It was a promise with Miyako, my wife. We were… we knew each other when we were little. Both of us were very poor. I was around eight at the time, and Miyako was five. Haha… she was something else back then, always crying and whining. To this day I do not know why I was her play friend. Things are just destined I suppose… Anyway, I somehow had this job at a local bakery as the baker's 'little' assistant. I remembered that the pay was very lousy, but the reason I stayed was to get the free bread, cakes and pastries. I shared my food with Miyako… haha… and because of that she stuck to me even more then before."

Naru giggled at the story. The idea of Keitaro's father and mother as children amused her very much. 

"But one day… I do not know what was wrong with me at the time… but she made me very angry… and I made her cry… Something inside me clicked. I couldn't watch her in tears like that, and so I promised her… that one day I will own the finest bakery in Japan, and the two of us will live happily together."

"That is so romantic," Naru said as her eyes watered up with tears. "I can't believe that really happened. You two are so lucky everything worked out well."

"Well…" Hiroyuki shrugged his shoulders and patted his growling stomach. "It wasn't all perfect. After I made that promise Miyako moved away. But I guess it was fate, because I found her, achieved ownership of a renowned bakery, and now the two of us raised a happy son."

Hiroyuki reached across the table and grabbed Naru's hands with his. "Naru-chan, please take good care of our Keitaro."

Keitaro was just entering the room when he heard the last line. "What are you saying you old man?!"

"I am not saying anything."

"Oh really? Then why are you holding her hand?!"

"What makes you think that I had wrong intentions?"

"Because it makes sense to!"

Keitaro's mother walked into the dining room and waved around her rolling pin. She went up to the two of them and pinched their cheeks.

"We have a guest here! You two better behave yourselves or else you're not getting dinner!"

The two of them bowed their heads down in shame. 

"I'm sorry, mama."

"I'm sorry, Miyako-chan."

****************************************

Dinner progressed without any further troubles. The conversation was, for the most part, on life at Hinata-sou and Toudai. Miyako served pastries for dessert. Naru slowly went through it, enjoying each sweet bite. She looked at Keitaro who looked as though all was right in the world. 

'_He must really love his parents deep down inside,_' she thought.

"Naru, you have some cream on the side of your lip," Keitaro said. He took his napkin and wiped it for her.

"I see that you two get along well," Miyako commented. Naru and Keitaro blushed at the tease.

"It's okay," Hiroyuki said. "Although we are getting old, we still know what it was like to be young kids."

"Papa, you are not making things any better!"

Miyako stood up and began to clear the table. She took all the dishes in a graceful manner and headed toward the kitchen.

"You three just enjoy yourself today. I'll go clean the dishes."

"Okaasan, may I help you?"

"You want to help me, Naru-chan? That would be great. You can take those and we'll be off."

It took the two of them little time to wash the dishes and to clean the kitchen.

"I'm impressed Naru-chan. You will make a wonderful wife one day!"

"Ahh… really?" Naru blushed at the compliment. "Okaasan… I have been wondering about this for a while… and I would like to know more about you and Otousan's past. What I mean to say is… how did your promise go?"

"That old pervert, he told you about our promise?"

"Ahh! If you don't want to talk about it then it's okay…"

Miyako placed her broom away and sat down on a chair. She looked at Naru and smiled warmly.

"Naru, I'm quite alright about telling you about our past, but that man better not be going around telling everyone the wrong story."

"Oh… haha… I understand. Yeah, I'm worried sometimes that Keitaro might not remember things correctly."

The two of them laughed at the follies of their significant others.  Naru took a chair and sat down. Miyako got up and poured Naru and herself a cup of tea. She gave Naru's her cup and then sat down with her own.

"Shortly after Hiroyuki made his promise my papa got a job in a different town. I was reluctant to go, but as a child I had no choice. For years I had to keep that promise in my heart, hoping that one day I will be able to return, and find that he had kept his promise. After fifteen years had passed, I was finally able to go back to my childhood town. There was one big problem; I forgot his name and what he looked like. And so, I managed to find employment at the best bakery in town. Surprisingly it also happened to be one of the best bakeries in all of Japan at the time. Anyways, I thought that I would definitely find my promised one there."

"And so you did, right?"

"Hahaha… well… let's just say that it wasn't what I expected.  At that bakery there was an old man as the manager and his young lackey. Both of them definitely did not look like the boy from the past. The manager was old and cruel; the lackey was clumsy and perverted. Nonetheless I worked there in hopes that one day my promised one will come and find me. I worked very hard so that I could take over the bakery. I figured that that would be the best way to secure our promise together. My biggest obstacle was the perverted lackey; the manager preferred him over me."

"So you were trying to take over the bakery yourself and you were against a pervert…"

"He was the biggest pervert ever! He was so clumsy as well! He would always peek on me while I changed into my uniform, and he would touch my chest at least a dozen times a day. Thank goodness the manager was not like him as well."

"This sounds very familiar…"

"After working for three long and tiring years, I still did not find him. I was getting very tired and very sad… and so I thought about… forgetting the promise… and to go home."

"What?!"

"Yeah, it's true. That day; however, the manager died of old age. In his will, he left half of the bakery to me and the other half to the pervert."

"That means you finally got the bakery!"

"No Naru-chan, at that point I didn't care for the bakery anymore. All I really wanted was to see that boy from the past again… And so I cried and ran away from the bakery. The stupid idiot of a coworker… he followed me, even though there was a heavy blizzard outside at the time."

"He… he did?"

"Yes he did. He placed his jacket around me and… *sigh* At that moment, I allowed all my emotions to be released. I told him how I only had one real reason for working at that stupid bakery, and how I hadn't accomplished it yet."

"What did he say?"

"He slowly came up to me and… he hugged me. He then told me that he too, only had one reason for working at that bakery. He told me that it was because of a fifteen year old promise… right there and then, I knew that he was the one…"

Miyako took a last sip of her tea and placed the cup in the sink. She took Naru's cup and began to wash them.

"And there you have it; our story. So now we are living quite happily together, and we have that bakery… Hahaha… but Hiroyuki can still be a pervert sometimes. Say… Naru, is that a ring on your hand there?"

"Ahh… it's nothing, really! It's just a gift from Keitaro."

"Oh, alright… but be sure to call us when the day happens," Miyako said with a grin.

****************************************

"Huh? What's this?" Keitaro inspected a CD he found in his old playroom. After he moved out, his father had turned the room into a computer room.

"A puzzle game? Heck, why not?"

Keitaro placed the CD into the computer and began playing. Hiroyuki walked into the room and saw Keitaro playing his game.

"Do you accept a challenge from the master of that game?"

"Haha, don't make me laugh."

"Fine, don't say that I didn't warn you."

The two of them played the puzzle game out. After several minutes funny victory music could be heard.

"Haha, I told you that you shouldn't have opened your mouth to soon, Keitaro."

"Gaah… one more round!"

Two hours later, Miyako and Naru walked into the computer room to find two sweaty and tired men playing a puzzle game.

"My goodness, are they always like this?" Naru asked.

"It was worse when they first got a street fighting game. *Sigh* My husband sure doesn't act his age."

****************************************

It was a long day for Naru. She finally got all of her stuff unpacked. She and Keitaro had planned to stay for three days and so it was a lot to do. Naru looked around her guest room. At first Keitaro's father suggested that she could share Keitaro's room. Naru giggled as she remembered how Miyako punched Hiroyuki across the room for that comment.

*Knock knock*

"May I come in Narusegawa?"

"Yes, come in Keitaro."

Keitaro opened the door and walked toward Naru. He took a seat beside Naru near her futon.

"I apologize again on behalf of my parents."

"Why Keitaro? I don't think they are weird at all. In fact, I really like them."

"Do you really? That makes me glad then."

"Keitaro… have your parents ever told you about their past?"

"Haha, sometimes they would try, but it never really sounds interesting. Why did you ask such a question? Are you okay Narusegawa?"

Keitaro placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. He then compared it with his own.

"Maybe what you need is a bath to cool down. Come on, I'll show you the way."

They walked down the hallway to the bathing room together. Naru hugged Keitaro's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I really do like your family, Keitaro. I think we will get along just fine."

"As long as you're happy then I am happy too. Here is the bath… eh? It's locked."

*Knock knock*

"Is anyone in there?" Keitaro asked.

Hiroyuki comes out of the room drenched, with a towel around his waist. He looked at Naru then at Keitaro.

"Ahh… I see that you two would like to use the bath. Miyako and I would be done soon… give us another… twenty minutes."

He closed the door and a locking noise sounded. Naru looked at Keitaro in surprise. Her expression quickly changed into amusement.

"Keitaro, what do you suppose they are doing in there together?" she asked in a playful manner.

"GAAH! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!!!" Keitaro ran down the hallway screaming from the mental picture.

End Episode 4

Author's Comments

Time to clarify things! Before you guys get the wrong idea, I have been planning this story since early 2002. Yeah, it may sound as though I am ripping off some fellow writers, but I am not (^_~). In this episode, I 'introduced' Keitaro's parents. Although I gave them names, I am not planning to use them or have them part of the story again. The purpose of the episode 'b' was to get Naru and Keitaro closer together. Visiting Keitaro's home is a great way to get them together (IMO). Another thing – because Love Hina is very episodic, and it has no 'overlaying' plot (aside from getting into Toudai and winning Naru's love) I have made this story as episodic as possible. That is why I call each chapter, an episode. This may come a little late to explain, but this story takes place after the part in the manga where Keitaro and Naru find happiness in front of Toudai (with the paper airplane throwing thingy) BUT it takes place before the epilogue (3 years after). With 3 years to work with, I figured lots could happen. If there are more questions I'll explain them next time! ^_^


	5. Emotions: Raging like the Waves

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

Lots of thanks to my editors: TheArchimage and dementedchris (^_^)!

Note: The story begins in Motoko's POV. From now on I am adopting _italics_ for thoughts.

Episode 5 – Emotions; Raging like the Waves

_The night sky was littered with billions of stars; unblocked by the clouds of this terrestrial plane. The moon was full in all of its glory, a sign of a pleasant evening. I stood by a window taking in all of the night's beauty and splendour. The dress that I wore did not suit me; it was simply too beautiful and elegant. However, it was appropriate for such an evening. As I turn away from the window a man in a magnificent tuxedo stood by me, his face covered by a mask. He offered his hand to me and I accepted it. Arm in arm we walked toward the main ballroom. As the two of us danced together amongst the dozen of masked couples all I could think of was how enchanting the moment was. It was all so heavenly – the exquisite decorations, the dazzling lights, alluring people, and most of all, the stunning man who was my partner. He held me in his arms as we danced. He radiated a firm but caring presence. He has finally turned into the man of my dreams…_

_When the dance ended he took me to a room. It was a bedroom that made an everlasting lovely impression on me. He gently placed me on the bed. I blushed at the realization at what was happening and what was going to happen. An incredible sensation shot through me as I felt his hand brushed against my back. He slowly went down my body with his gentle hands. I hesitated for a moment, but I took off his mask…_

_…_

_…_

_… KENICHI?!!?_

********************

"WAAAAH!!!! HOW DID 'HE' GET INTO MY MIND LIKE THAT?!" Aoyama Motoko took her story and ripped it up into tiny little pieces. She picked up her pen and hurled it across the room. Motoko continued her furious rampage, as Kenichi's face still lingered in her mind. "This is disgusting! Why am I thinking of that pervert?"

Motoko equipped herself with her sword and left her room. There was no use dwelling over trivial things. A walk and a talk with some of the other residents would surely clear her mind, she thought.

"Good morning, Motoko-senpai!"

"Good morning, Shinobu," Motoko replied to Shinobu who seemed to be in a happy mood.

"Umm… have you seen Kenichi around? I was planning on baking him another cake to make him feel better but…"

"AHHHH!" Motoko surprised Shinobu with a scream that interrupted the conversation. She unsheathed her sword and ran down the hallway, leaving Shinobu gazing with her mouth open. 'Depressed or not, I must clear my mind of Arai. He must pay dearly for invading my thoughts. But where is he hiding?"

With a quick search of the second floor and then a dash toward the stairs, Motoko found herself in the lobby of Hinata-sou. _'Hmm… If I was a stupid pervert where would I be?'_

"Hi Motoko!" Keitaro exclaimed.

"Oh… it's only you, Urashima." Motoko said as she sheathed her sword. "What are you doing with all of this luggage? You just came back from your home several days ago."

Naru walked into the lobby with some more bags. "Morning Motoko. We were all decided to go to the beach for a little vacation."

"What? When? Why?" Motoko questioned.

"Didn't Kaolla tell you?" Naru asked.

"It seems to have become tradition for us now to go somewhere every summer. And besides…" Keitaro slowly looked away from Motoko. "… Ever since we came back… Kenichi hasn't been… happy."

"We are hoping that the beach will get him in good spirits again," Naru said gleefully. "It's going to be a lot of fun for everyone!"

****************************************

The clear blue sky and warm, shining sun only served to emphasis the blissful and energetic setting of the beach. The sound of waves crashing against the shore and the smell of the bitter and salty sand filled the air. There were people everywhere, enjoying the perfect day for fun and relaxation.

"Why did you take me here?" Kenichi asked in a monotone, his eyes fixed somewhere else.

"Well… uhh… everyone else came along," Keitaro replied. "Even Seta and Haruka are going to be visiting here today. Besides, staying at home and playing RPGs all day isn't the healthiest idea!"

Keitaro's joke didn't even merit a response from Kenichi. He was still as depressed as he was when Keitaro came back. This only strengthened Keitaro's resolve to change Kenichi's depressing attitude.

"While we stayed at my place for three days, Naru and I saw a lot of things that we shouldn't have seen. Haha… like this one time we caught my parents…"

"I don't want to hear it," Kenichi interrupted quietly. "It sounds like something that shouldn't be my business."  

_'This is beginning to bother me,'_ Keitaro thought. _'For as long as I have known him, I haven't seen him as sad as he is now. What could it be?' _

Keitaro innocently looked at the bountiful amount of pretty girls, glistening in the water. His nose gave off a drop of blood. He looked around quickly and was relieved to find out that Naru wasn't around.

"Hey Kenichi! How about we go swimming?" Keitaro suggested. He pushed Kenichi into the nearby changing room.

"Hold on a second, Keitaro! This here is a…"

"It's alright buddy! Swimming is going to relax your mind and make you forget you troubles." Keitaro gave Kenichi a final push and went in himself.

"AIYEEE!"

"Eh? Shinobu?" Keitaro looked around and saw girls in the midst of changing. "Oh no did I…"

"Kenichi… Keitaro… you PEEPERS!" an enraged Naru yelled at them. "You are going to pay for this!"

Naru ran up to Keitaro and gave him a powerful punch to the jaw. He went flying out of the change room. Naru turned around and looked at Kenichi who was nervously squirming his way out. She dashed toward him and gave him a hard kick that made him follow the path that Keitaro took. As the sand settled from the impact, Keitaro looked to his side to find Kenichi rubbing his bottom.

"Ouch, ouch, and ouch…" Kenichi cried.

"Are you all right?" Keitaro asked.

"Of all the idiots in the world, I had to have YOU as a friend!" Kenichi said sarcastically.

Keitaro grinned. _'It took a lot, but at least he's turning back to his old self.'_

****************************************

"Su-chan, what are you doing?" Motoko asked. At the side of the beach tea house Su Kaolla was tinkering with some device.

"I am going to have a water gun fight with Kenichi!" Kaolla replied. "This is definitely going to get Kenichi in a good mood again! He is always happy when we have battles like this!"

"Ahh Su-chan, does he know that you two are going to have a water gun fight?"

"I don't know. I haven't told him about it yet! Just a little bit more…"

Kaolla took out a monkey wrench and smacked her contraption several times. Her frantic movements blocked Motoko's view of the 'gun'. Kaolla threw the wrench away and grabbed her laser torch. Motoko perspired as she witnessed this extraordinary activity. As the sound of the laser died, Kaolla threw the torch away and hollered a victorious cry.

"It's done! It's done at last!"

"Let's see it Su…"

"Here it is! I call it the 'Giga Hydro-Enfilade'!"  Her 'gun' was easily the size of a large animal, and came complete with a sniper scope, laser sight, and a three-foot long 100mm barrel.

"AHH! You can't use that Su! You would KILL him!" The strange and sudden thought of protecting Kenichi made her feel awkward. _'But why should I care about him?'_

Kaolla grabbed a hold of her gun and sprinted out to the shore. Motoko could not stop the lively girl and tried her best to catch up to her. Her effort was in vain as she saw Kenichi approaching them.

"Oh hey Aoyama, Kaoll-AAHHHHHHHHH!!!" 

Kaolla pushed the trigger and a colossal blast of water shot out from her gun. Kenichi did not have time to prepare himself; the volley of water launched him out into the ocean. Motoko watched as Kenichi slowly became a small dot in the sky as he flew toward the nearby island on the horizon.

"Eh? Too much power?" Kaolla mused.

"Of course there was too much power!" Motoko scolded. "Quickly, I think he may have landed on that island over there. There! We'll take that boat."

She grabbed Kaolla by the arm and hurried to an inflatable boat that was nearby. She requested the use from a local couple, and after tossing Kaolla on board the boat she pushed it out on to the water. Motoko jumped on board and began to paddle.

"Arai isn't invincible like Keitaro, Su-chan," Motoko stated. "He could have been seriously injured. We are going to have to check and make sure that he is still in one piece."

"Are you worried about Kenichi?" Kaolla asked in an amused manner.

"I'm worried about you!" Motoko quickly shouted back. "What would the others say when they find out that we 'lost' Arai?!"

"Okay Motoko! I'll help paddle then!"

Kaolla took a hold of both oars and paddled fanatically. The speed that they traveled at rivaled the speed of the motorboats nearby. Motoko felt sick in the stomach as the boat went faster then she was ready for. Within a minute the boat was on shore of the little island.

"Ohhh… I think I am sick…" Motoko whimpered. She turned toward Kaolla and asked a question, not expecting an answer. "Where do you get the energy Su-chan?"  

"We're here!" Kaolla exclaimed. "Now let's go find Kenichi!"

The island was relatively small. It did not take them long to search most of it.

_'It's weird saying this… but I am starting to worry for that pervert,'_ Motoko thought. _'I am positive that he landed on this island.'_

"Hey Motoko! Have you found him yet?" Kaolla asked while looking under a rock. "Nope, he isn't under this rock either! What fun! Hide and go seek is my favourite!"

*Sigh* _'She isn't taking this seriously,'_ Motoko thought. "Tama?! Where did you come from?"

A familiar 'myuu' noise came from a turtle lying on the boat. Motoko slowly backed away from the little turtle, but after she remembering the turtle's nose for trouble she hurried after it. But she was too late as the turtle bit into the material of the boat and a loud 'phhhhh' noise was given off. Satisfied with her work Tama flew away from the island. Motoko stood in shock at what happened.

"Curse… that… turtle…" Motoko sighed. She looked down as the thought of staying on the island slowly made its way into her mind. *Sigh* "Where is Arai anyway? Eh? What's this… "

On the ground were little spots of blood beside footprints on the sand. Motoko followed the trail and saw that it lead to the ocean.

_'He's hurt… badly,'_ she thought. _'But he must've swam to the mainland anyway. I should've stopped Su when I had the chance.'_

"Hey Motoko! What happened to our boat?"

"Tama got to it." Motoko looked disappointedly at the boat. "And it looks like Arai has already left… We're going to have to stay until someone comes to rescue us."

****************************************

"There is nothing like some cold ice cream on a hot day!" Naru declared as she stood in line for ice cream. She had just gone out for a swim with Keitaro a moment ago. Her two-piece swimsuit was still a little wet and clung tightly to her body.

_'Hehe… I'm such a tease with this swimsuit,'_ Naru thought. She recalled the nosebleed that Keitaro got when he saw her come out of the changing room. _'At least Keitaro is enjoying it.'_

After several minutes of waiting in line Naru triumphantly left the ice cream store. Her bouncy walk caught the glance of many of the males in the area.

'It's such a great day… maybe I can talk to Keitaro about…' 

"Hey there pretty lady!" A tall, gruff man shouted.  

"You sure are a cute one," the man's buddy said. "Are you here with any friends?"

"What?" Naru looked around nervously. There were four men who were approaching her. Their faces suggested that they wanted something lewd from her. "W-Wait a second here! I-I a-m here with…"

"Yes yes?!" One man shouted. "Friends? Three more I hope."

_'Oh no,' _Naru thought. _'These men are such repulsive perverts! What am I going to do? … Keitaro!'_

Up ahead, Naru could see that Keitaro was walking along the shore. His face wasn't looking up and he had an aura of deep concentration around him. He looked up at the late afternoon sun.

_'Kenichi… why aren't you telling us what's wrong?'_ Keitaro thought. _'You know that I am always here for you. I am sure that the others would be supportive as well. What can it be?'_

Naru tried to get around the large guys but they wouldn't let her through. She tried pushing them out of her way but they pushed back with their chests.

"KEITARO!!!" Naru screamed.

"Eh?" One of the men looked at Keitaro. "Could that runt be her boyfriend?"

Another man turned to face Naru and he flexed his muscles. "C'mon babe! Wouldn't you want some of this?"

Naru gave the man a disgusted look. She looked over and saw that Keitaro wasn't paying attention.

"Keitaro! Hey Keitaro!" Naru, in a state or worry, shouted. "Why is he not paying attention to me?"

"Clearly he doesn't think much for ladies like you!" the gruff man said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he swims on the other side of the river, if you know what I mean."

Naru exploded in anger. The insult directed to her Keitaro enraged her. Keitaro ignoring her plea for help enraged her even more. Her eyes flashed crimson fire. Her hair rose in burning fury. With one mighty hook punch she sent the four perverted goons flying off into the ocean. She turned around and dashed toward Keitaro.

"Oh hey Narusega-WAAAAAAAAAA!!! W-W-What did I do this time?!"

Her furious aura increased ten-fold. Naru closed her eyes and raised her nerve-popping fist up high. "It's what you didn't do Kei - Ta - *BAMM* - RO!!!"

The powerful impact sent Keitaro flying twenty feet away. Disgusted and upset, Naru walked away in the other direction. Keitaro picked his injured body off the ground. "What got into her?" He said out loud while rubbing the growing bruise on his head.

"Ara ara. I don't think Na-chan is very happy."

"Eh?" Keitaro turned to face the direction of the voice. "Mutsumi-san? Did you see the whole thing?"

Mutsumi, in a modest one-piece swimsuit, sat under an umbrella, the shade covering her from the sun. Her large, round hat served no other purpose then to keep her hair in place. She kept her legs close to her, using her arms to hug them in. Her eyes were relaxed but awake, suggesting that she saw and understood all that had just happened.

"Na-chan didn't seem to know that you were in deep concentration, Kei-kun. Ara, may I suggest that you two think things over before talking to each other? It has been awhile since I seen her so angry… "

_'Wow… Mutsumi seems so…wise,'_ Keitaro nervously thought. "You're right Mutsumi-san. I… did I ignore her?"

"It did look that way," Mutsumi said. "But whatever was on your mind must've been important."

"Well… I'll take your advice and give some time before talking to Narusegawa. Besides, I got to figure out a way to apology." Keitaro smiled warmly at Mutsumi to thank her. He walked away toward the hotel rooms that they all were staying at, leaving Mutsumi by herself.

_'I bet Kei-kun was thinking about Arai-kun.'_ Mutsumi looked down to the sand. She hugged her legs closer to herself. _'Arai-kun… hasn't been the same. I wonder… I wonder why?'_

Mutsumi looked at the setting before her. Children and adults were enjoying themselves. Toddlers were running around and playing with the sand. Teenagers were all about, trying to impress the opposite gender by doing crazy antics in the water. The scenery broke her sad mood. She let a smile go as a tiny boy playing with an oversized beach ball went by her.

"What's wrong, Mutsumi-chan?"

Mutsumi looked behind her and saw a tall man smoking a cigarette.

"Ara ara! Seta-san! How are you?" Mutsumi said happily.

"I'm very good, thank you. Haruka, Sara and I are having a great time," Seta said and then winked at Mutsumi. "I'm in charge of getting snacks… are you okay? Why aren't you with the others?"

Mutsumi looked away from Seta. Her face still showed the false smile, not revealing any of her true feelings. It was no use to hide from Seta she told herself. Seta was able to see through her mask.

"I-It's Arai-kun…" Mutsumi hesitantly said.

"You're worried about him," Seta said warmly.

"So you are aware… that he hasn't been himself lately."

"Yes… yes…" Seta sighed. He dropped his smile and stubbed out his cigarette. His features became more rigid. Something was bothering him.

"Ah… Seta-san?"

Seta took out a fresh cigarette and proceeded to light it up. "Mutsumi, I'll tell you something if you promise to keep it a secret between the two of us."

Mutsumi's eyes widen. What Seta had to say must have been troubling him. She nodded her head, agreeing to the promise.

"It all started when we went out on another expedition back in America. That day we ventured into some caves in the mountains. For the most part, it was easy for Keitaro, Kenichi and I. But then we found some ruins deep within the mountains. Inside was a huge worship site, and in the middle was an old spherical relic."

Seta took in a long drag of his cigarette. He turned away from Mutsumi so the smoke wouldn't go in her direction. "What happened next is hard to explain… Some beast attacked us… It knocked Keitaro out cold first. That's why Keitaro doesn't remember most of it. I tried to fight it, but it was vastly superior to me. Well… I was pretty sure that we were doomed that time, but Kenichi, he did something… unusual. He was delirious! He kept on uttering phrases and sayings that I never heard of before. And then… and then he went up to the relic and smashed it on the floor. I felt sick and passed out. Next thing I know, we were back in the van with Kenichi driving us back. And the odd thing was, he was perfectly normal. I mean… he was just happy-go-lucky Kenichi all over! *Sigh* After seeing what has happened to him recently, I think… the relic had some kind of power or energy to it. Also, he was never this talented as a fighter before. He was always better then Keitaro, but he wasn't as skilled as he is now."

Seta took a last drag of his cigarette and stubbed it out. He was tempted to take out another one but he knew that his wife complained about him smoking like a chimney. He looked at Mutsumi who was holding herself tightly. The expression on her face made Seta think over what he just told her. It pained him to see her like that.

"I'm sorry Mutsumi-chan. I shouldn't have told you all that."

"No, I'm all right. Thank you very much for telling me. At least now… I have an idea of why Kenichi is going through this."

"What do you mean?"

"I knew, when I first met him, that there was something more… to him." Mutsumi thought the situation over quickly and an idea formed. "Seta! Couldn't we get Motoko to get rid of the spirits or energies from Kenichi? She did get rid of the Hina Blade spirits when they took over Naru."

Seta looked at the optimistic Mutsumi. The whole ordeal hadn't been fair to her. She had always been one to care for all and to take nothing in return. And because of Kenichi she hadn't been her usual happy self. She had been like a woman lamenting over her lost lover.

"I'm sorry Mutsumi-chan." Seta, with disappointment in his eyes, looked away from her. "If it was only that simple… "

"Ara… ara… " Mutsumi said quietly.

With gentle intent, Seta placed his hand on Mutsumi's shoulder. He forced a smile upon his face. His posture became casual again.

"I got to go get those snacks now," Seta said warmly. "Just don't think too much about it. I am positive that things will change for the better. And I am sure that Kenichi will get better too."

Mutsumi watched Seta as he walked away. It was getting pretty late in the afternoon and people were starting to come in and change out of their swimwear. She packed up her umbrella and started off in a random direction. 

'I guess… I guess I will get better when Arai-kun gets better. Seta-san is right. I should cheer up so that Arai-kun will cheer up!'

*THUMP* "Ara ara…"

"Hey turtle-sister! Watch out for the tea house." Mitsune stood provocatively against the entrance door. Her slouched body suggested that she had been there for a while; waiting for someone. "Are you all right?"

"Ah! Kitsune!" Mutsumi greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm waiting for some people," Mitsune said. She looked at Mutsumi with confusion. "And what exactly were you doing?"

"Ara? I was just thinking," Mutsumi replied honestly.

Mitsune smirked at the response. "Really? You are thinking? I never figured you to be that type of person. Maybe Naru… but not you."

"Ara ara… Hahaha." Mutsumi perked up and laughed. She turned around and walked away saying, "ara ara."

Mitsune stood up from the door and scratched her head. She looked ahead to see Mutsumi trip over her own feet. "What a strange girl. But then again, who am I to judge? I'm not exactly a normal girl either. Anyway… where are those two?"

After a serious glance around she realized that the people she was supposed to meet weren't around yet. In her habit, she shrugged and went into the tea house for a drink.

"There you are!" a stumpy guy with glasses shouted.

"We have been waiting in here for ever," a taller guy said.

"So here is where you have been!" Mitsune said with displeased tone. "I have been outside waiting for you two. Anyway, here are the keys that I promised…" She tossed them the keys. "Catch, Shirai. And now… your part of the deal, Haitani."

"What? No teasing and chatting today, Kitsune?" Haitani joked.

"I'm not in the mood for it," Mitsune replied coldly. She quickly thought things over, _'I guess most of us haven't been the same lately.'_

"Quickly give her what she wants and let us be going, Haitani," Shirai said.

"You don't have to spoil my fun," Haitani remarked. "So, it's all been arranged Kitsune. The bar here will allow you a certain number of sake bottles and I will pay for it all later."

"And in return I gave you those keys to a sensational watercraft," Mitsune stated.

"Don't make it sound as though our part of the deal is better, Kitsune," Haitani said. "We are going to return the keys and the boat to you later anyway. By the way, I would like to know where did you get this boat from?"

"A friend," Mitsune said. She turned away from them and sinisterly laughed to herself. _'Thank you Sakata Kentaro,'_ she thought.

"If you're not going to tell us then we're off," Haitani said as he clenched the keys in his hands.

"Enjoy your hunting, boys."

"And you don't drink so much! My wallet won't allow it, and the bartender won't either! Well later then, Kitsune."

Mitsune watched as the two guys left the tea house. She sighed as she realized how bored she was feeling. She looked around the tea house and watched as the numerous couples enjoyed each other's company. She sighed again as a lonely feeling took over her train of thought.

_'I got to get some alcohol inside of me. This mood is destroying me.'_ Mitsune walked up to the little bar of the tea house. Ever since that summer when all the residents of Hinata-sou took charge of the tea house, business has been thriving. It had been so successful that Haruka-san sold it off to some businessman for a lot of money.

"Bartender, get me a nice bottle of sake please. The finest one you got."

Instead of drinking by herself while watching all the couples flirt about, Mitsune took her bottle of sake and left the tea house.

*Sigh* "It's depressing being me. Keitaro has Naru and I am sure that they are having an amazing time together. Seta is probably relaxing somewhere with Haruka and Sara. The others are probably off playing some fun activities. And then… there is Kenichi… I wonder how that guy is doing…" Mitsune threaded through the sandy beach slowly. Her movements gave away the impression that she was drunk, but that couldn't be further from the truth. She had been sober up until then. Taking small gulps of the sake she wandered aimlessly.

'Keitaro's friend from the west… Kenichi.'

"ACHOO!"

"Eh? Kenichi? What are you doing here?"

Kenichi sat down on the sand; his head moved to see who it was but he did not acknowledge her. He secretly hid from her his wound he got earlier by wearing a shirt. His personality was cold, and made him appear to be in a depressing haze.

_'He's sad… very sad,'_ Mitsune thought. _'It makes me depressed just looking at him.'_

"Hey Kenichi! I'm lonely too! You want to join me and we can have some fun!"

"…"

"What kind of a response is that?"

"… Sorry."

"That's better! Did you see Motoko's new swimsuit today? Haha… Naru bought her that two-piece. It's kind of risqué, eh? She sure is a blossoming girl though…"

"…"

"Kenichi…" Mitsune's tone changed from a joyful to warm and caring. Her voice conveyed an emotion that caught Kenichi's attention. She held a pause to let Kenichi know that she wasn't joking around anymore. "… You can't be like this forever. It is a selfish way to live out your life. Not only do you feel unhappy, but you also rob the happiness from those who love and care about you. The way a person acts will affect the happiness of others."

"I…" Kenichi was at a lost of words. The truth behind her words touched him at his very core. Kenichi realized the error in his poor mood and something inside him made him feel at ease. He looked up at Mitsune and smiled.

_'A smile looks good on you, Kenichi,'_ Mitsune thought. _'I feel better myself now thanks to you… '_

"You want a drink, Kenichi?"

"Sure. What do you have there?"

"Just some sake. Here, take the bottle. I can easily get some more."

"Thank you very much, Kitsune… for everything."

"Don't mention it. I only want you to be happy again. You're boring when you're not!"

"Haha, okay then."

Mitsune smiled at him. The day was beginning to get better for her. She began to walk away.

"Wait Kitsune!"

"Eh? What is it Kenichi?"

"Would you… would you like to stay and drink with me?"

****************************************

*Sigh* "Some guys get all the luck." Haitani placed the binoculars away.

"You really shouldn't be spying on her like that in the first place," Shirai scolded. "How do you think she would react if she found out?"

"We are on a boat far away from her!" Haitani yelled hysterically. "How can she know?!"

"Fine, fine… but you shouldn't just think of Kitsune. After all, there are plenty of fish in the sea!"

"I guess you're right, Shirai."

"Of course I am right! What do you take me for, an idiot? And look at our good fortune. We have a boat to use! In a couple of hours the sun is going to set as well. *Sigh* we can get a lot of ladies tonight!"

"Well… if you put it that way. I wonder if it's possible for me to meet Shinobu or Motoko tonight?"

"And I hope to meet Haruka-san!"

"You do know that she is married, right?"

"Yeah… but… well…"

"You got to give that up, Shirai.  It's not healthy."

Haitani positioned himself in front of the steering wheel. He took out the keys that were handed to him from Mitsune and started the boat. The engine roared to life and the two of them were off on their girl hunt.

"Hmm… where should we go first?" Haitani asked.

"How about that island over there?" Shirai suggested. He moved his glasses around to try to get a better view. "I think I see two girls on it." 

The new-model boat took little time to get to the island. It raced through the waters much like a predator hunting its prey. Haitani skillfully weaved around the waves and slowed the boat down as it approached the shore of the island.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Haitani shouted.

"Oh no," Motoko said as she crossed her arms. "Not you two."

"Wow!" Haitani exclaimed. "You're here? I'm so happy."

"I take it that you two want off of this island," Shirai said. "Come! Your chivalrous knights have arrived."

"Yay!" Kaolla exclaimed.

"Hold on a second, Su-chan," Motoko said. "What makes you two think that we would go with you?"

"Do you really want to stay on this island until the water recedes?" Haitani asked.

"No… but… what's the catch?"

"Well… " Haitani eyes sparkled in excitement. "You will have to agree to go on a date with me!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"Yep! That is the only way that I will allow you two on my boat!"

"I rather wait for Kyoto to be destroyed before I agree to that!" Motoko shouted.

"Since when was it your boat?" Shirai asked.

"Is a boat delicious?" 

"What a great idea!" Haitani complimented himself. "How come I never thought of this before?"

"I'd rather not go back to the mainland then," Motoko said.

"But Motoko," Kaolla said as she gently pulled Motoko's arm. "If we don't then we won't know what happened to Kenichi."

"Oh!" Shirai snapped to attention at the name. "Kenichi is… hmphhhh"

"Shh!" Haitani whispered to Shirai as he covered his mouth with his hand. "Hahaha, what Shirai was going to say to say was that we haven't seen Kenichi all day." 

"Fine… I'll go on a date with you if you take us to the mainland," Motoko agreed. A thought bothered her. _'Why am I doing this? I didn't even do anything to Arai this time.'_

Holding up his part of the deal, a very happy Haitani pushed the boat to its limits as he raced it to the mainland. Once they were near the beach, Motoko jumped off the boat and swam to shore. Her worry was expressed as she frantically searched the beach for Kenichi.

_'There he is!'_ Motoko smiled with relief as she saw Kenichi up ahead. Then some other people caught her eye. _'WHAT?! Who are those bikini-clad women he's with?!'_

"Now now ladies, I don't know how much I can *hick* drink today," Kenichi remarked.

"Have some more from my glass, Kenichi."

"Arai-kun, drink from mine."

Motoko stared in disbelief. "Kitsune… Mutsumi-san… in bikinis and serving Arai?"

"Um… senpai," Shinobu showed up from behind Mutsumi. She wore a pretty swimsuit with a sarong around her waist. She served snacks on a dish that she held up for Kenichi. "Would you like some of these snacks that I made for you?"

"Shinobu too!" Motoko exploded with rage. She ran up to Kenichi and gave him a hard punch to the cheek. "You pervert!"

Kenichi went flying to the change rooms and screams by females were heard followed by Kenichi's sudden yelp.

"Ara ara"

"Haha… oh! Should I be laughing?"

"Senpai!"

Motoko stormed away from the little party. "Stupid Arai… Getting me all worried like that while he is enjoying the time of his life. How could he be so insensitive?"

"Hey Motoko!" Haitani musically greeted. "So when are we going to have a date? Next week? Tomorrow? I'm free tonight!"

"Wha? Gaah! *KABAM*" Motoko punched Haitani to the boat. "Don't remind me of my mistake!"

****************************************

"At least those guys are having fun." Keitaro looked at them from afar. He turned around and walked to the beach docks that were nearby. After taking in a deep breath of the salty ocean air he sat down and the wooden dock and took off his glasses to clean them.

"Maybe I should get some contact lenses. Narusegawa thinks I look cuter without these things anyway. Naru…"

He looked down at the water and gently dipped his toe into the ocean. "I wonder how she is doing right now."

"I was thinking the same about you."

Keitaro looked behind him and saw Naru. She stood with her hands behind her back, her hair fluttered in the wind. She had changed into her clothes; she wore a loose tank top and a pair of tight shorts. Naru walked to the end of the dock where Keitaro was and sat down beside him. "It's going to be a beautiful sunset today isn't it Keitaro?"

"Ah, yes it will be," Keitaro replied uncomfortably. "Not a cloud in the sky."

They turned to face each other and blurted out at the same time, "I'm sorry!"

Immediately the two of them looked the other way and blushed.

"Narusegawa… do you remember the time we went to Kyoto after we first failed to get into Toudai? This sure reminds me of that time."

"Yes I do! How could I forget? It was the time that we almost…" Naru looked away again as the memory made her blush. "Do you remember the time at Molmol after Seta and Haruka's wedding?"

"Of course I remember! That was the time that we almost…" Keitaro looked up nervously as the memory caused him to blush and sweat.

Naru took Keitaro's hand and placed it on her cheek. She slowly rubbed her face against Keitaro's smooth hands. "Although it was awhile ago, I too, remember that time vividly, Keitaro."

"Will you forgive me for being so…"

"Shh! I forgive you Keitaro. It's not like it's the first time." Naru looked at him with a loving smile. "Do you forgive me for hitting you?"

"Of course I do! It's not like THAT is the first time."

The two of them laughed together. It was an interesting day for the two of them. As they sat there together, the sun slowly fell into the ocean scenery. After awhile Naru stood up and tried to get Keitaro up on his feet. "Come on Keitaro."

"Where are we going?"

"Well… I know this room that we can use…"

"Room? What for…?"

Naru blushed furiously. "Keitaro… it's a hotel room."

End Episode 5

Author's Comments

First off, I DEFINITELY have to apologize for the long wait. *Bows several times* 'Gomenasai!' I'm really sorry. It's exam time for us high school students (some of us anyways) and I have been really trying to boost my average (Got to stop pulling 'Keitaros' ^.^) I also have to apologize for the 'cliffhangers' lately. I hate them myself (especially since I update so erratically ;) But they have a purpose for the story telling, so unfortunately I have to include them (-_-) Sakata Kentaro won't be playing a role in this story, just to let you know. I am planning to get everyone to appear as a cameo or something (just for fun ^^) Okay, big plans now. It will shortly be the beginning of my summer holiday, so that means more time for writing! Expect better-scheduled updates (definitely not another one month plus hiatus!)

BTW – I spell in _Canadian _English. Not British nor American (^_~)

Until next time – Ja ne!


	6. The Allure of Romance

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

Lots of thanks to my editors: The Archimage and dementedchris (Chris). Without them this episode would not have made sense. ^^

Episode 6 – The Allure of Romance

What is this darkness? Why is it so cold? I feel so… so lonely. This seems familiar somehow. It's as though I've been here before. Maybe I have… in another life. That orb – I know it! I've seen it before! Oww… my head hurts. No, my whole body hurts. A sharp, agonizing pain… running through out my body. That orb… I feel compelled to get closer to it. Why? It's… summoning me. It's so close, and yet so far. W-W-What's going on? I-I'm scared. Something's coming! From behind? No – from the orb! That orb… it's the relic! I know where I am now! And in front of me…it's the beast! I'll KILL you! I won't let you hurt my friends anymore! I… I… what's going on?! What's this… I feel trapped! Is this YOUR sorcery, demon? A consuming circle of anguish… I won't let you do this to me! I won't let you hurt anyone anymore! I won't… but… it hurts. The indescribable pain… Someone save me… please? It hurts, and I don't want it to anymore. I want it all to go away. Is it to late? Perhaps…? A light up ahead! An angel! So beautiful… so tranquil… Naru? No… Aoyama? No… Sakura… It's you isn't? The light is so warm. It's soothing my soul. What is it sister? I'm being pulled toward… the light. I suppose I should – it feels… comforting. I can almost touch your hand, Sakura. I can… AHH! What is this?! AHH! This feeling… it's INSANITY! THIS IS TORTURE! LET ME OUT!!!

****************************************

"AHHHH!!!" Arai Kenichi screamed. He looked around the room and rested his head in his hands. "It was all a dream. It was all just a dream. But… why did it seem so vivid and familiar?"

He took off his sweat-drenched shirt and took a moment to take in deep breaths. After getting his body relaxed Kenichi went to the window and opened it up to allow in the brisk morning air. 

"Where am I?" Kenichi spoke to himself. "Why do I keep forgetting these things?"

He picked up some of the scattered clothing and his memory slowly came back to him.

"That's right… We're all on a vacation. Let's see… This must be the hotel that Keitaro said that we would stay in. Hmm… two beds… I remember now! There was to be two people for each room: Keitaro with me, Naru with Mutsumi, Motoko with Kaolla, and Shinobu with Mitsune. Haha… Shinobu-chan is probably having an interesting time. Eh… where's Keitaro this early in the morning? Hold on a second… now that I think about it, he never came in at all last night."

Kenichi checked the clock that was with the rest of the luggage, which was all sprawled on the floor. _'Geez…I better clean this up later, or else Keitaro is going to be angry.'_ Kenichi smiled at the thought of his good friend getting angry with him. _'Then again, I probably shouldn't worry. That guy rarely gets angry.'_

Taking his time, Kenichi changed into some clean clothes and began his search for Keitaro. He left his room and casually strolled down the hallway. _'I'm in such a great mood today. I wonder why? Haha… I feel like I can take on the world!'_

He took a turn to the open patio that was located on the same floor. Sitting down on a bench Kenichi watched the sun rise from the beach horizon. He began whistling a tune as birds flew by; they cheeped back in response. _'Definitely a good day.'_

He took in the air, the smell and the sight. When he was sure that this memory would be forever etched into his mind, Kenichi continued on.

"Good morning there, innkeeper!" he greeted.

"Don't call me that!" The innkeeper growled. He wore a maid outfit, which struck Kenichi as odd.

"Why is a guy like you doing in a maid outfit?" Kenichi asked without thinking if it was appropriate to.

"Idiots! I let a girl borrow my boat and the guys who used it damaged the port side. Now, because of her manipulating with the local police, I have to work here to earn enough money to cover the damages or else my father will kill me."

'Wow he's angry…' Kenichi watched the anger vein on the innkeeper's forehead grow larger. 'Better leave this guy alone.' 

"Hey Kenichi!"

"Eh? Oh, hey you two! Haitani, Shirai, what are you two doing here?" Kenichi checked them over. "And why are you two in maid uniforms as well?"

"Ah…hehe… well, we were the two idiots who smashed up Kentaro's boat," Shirai said.

"So that bitter guy over there is-"

Haitani nodded in confirmation. "Yep, that man over there is Sakata Kentaro."

"Oh… hey wait a second. Do you guys know where Keitaro is? I've been looking for him all of this morning."

Shirai tossed Kenichi a pair of keys when Haitani wasn't paying attention. He whispered quietly to Kenichi, "Here are the keys to the room he's in. The room number is listed on the keys. And in case you wonder later, the answer is no, we did not peep on them."

Kenichi looked at Shirai strangely. "Uhh… okay, sure! Umm… thanks for the keys, I suppose. Thanks again, and see you guys around!" 

_'They're quite the odd bunch,'_ Kenichi thought. He allowed himself to smirk as he went down the hallway. "302… Here's the room number that's listed on the keys."

Kenichi was about to put the key in the keyhole when he felt something cold and sharp slide along his neck. "Eh?"

"Don't you move or else this sword will cut you down."

"Aoyama! I didn't do anything!" Kenichi said in a nervous voice.

"It's not what you did. It's what you were planning to do," Motoko stated coldly.

"What do you mean? I'm looking for Keitaro!" A sweat drop formed on Kenichi's forehead and rolled down until it landed on the sword.

"Then how come you're trying to enter Naru-senpai's room?" Motoko shouted. 

"The maids down the hall told me that this is the room that Keitaro entered!" Kenichi said.

"Eh?" Motoko quickly realized the possible truth. "I remember seeing Mutsumi passed out in Kitsune and Shinobu's room. That means that Naru-senpai is…"

Without another word Motoko swiped the keys from Kenichi's hands and unlocked the door.

"This is how we're going to do this," Motoko whispered. "We're going in quietly. That means no noise, understand?"

Kenichi nodded in response. The door slowly opened up with a quiet creak. The two of them carefully made their way into the room. Motoko was disgusted as she walked around the mess on the floor. Plates, cups, books and lots of paper was scattered on the floor, suggesting that someone must've knocked over a table or counter. Sure enough Kenichi stubbed his toe on a fold up table that was lying on the floor.

"Ouch…"

"Shh!" Motoko emphasized the necessity for silence by covering Kenichi's mouth with her hand. "No noise, remember?"

Unsure of his mistake Kenichi scratched his head. Bringing both hands up he gave Motoko a gesture of confusion. Motoko got angry but allowed it to go. She took another step toward the bedroom but found a pair of shorts on the floor.

"What?" Motoko asked quietly.

"They're a pair of boxers," Kenichi whispered. "And judging by the colour I think they belong to Keitaro."

"Eh?!" Motoko froze on the spot as she realized that she was holding in her hands Keitaro's underwear.

"Hey look at this!" Kenichi picked up the upper undergarments of a woman. "Geez… I never knew Naru had such a nice sized che- *BAM*"

"You pervert!" Motoko yelled. "How dare you touch Naru-senpai's bra like that!"

The force of Motoko's assault made Kenichi do a spinning dive into the bedroom. Motoko was expecting a loud crash followed by screaming but was surprised by the lack of either.

"Oww ow ow…" Kenichi gently cried as he tried to get up. As he slid off the bed, taking the bed covers with him, Kenichi greeted his friend who was on the bed. "Oh, good morning Keitaro!" 

"Morning Kenichi," Keitaro said as he put on his glasses. "What brings you… AHH! I'm not wearing any clothes!"

"AHHH!" Hiding behind Keitaro, an equally unclothed Naru shrieked. She took the pillow that Keitaro was using to cover himself and with a dash she kicked Keitaro and Kenichi out of the room. "You perverts! Get out of here!"

"Naru-senpai… " A flustered Motoko cried out. "Why were you naked in the same bed as Urashima?"

"Eh! Ah… umm… It's not what it seems like Motoko-chan!"

The radical situation overwhelmed Motoko. Her head waved around several times and she fainted to the floor.

***************************************

Keitaro sat down on his knees. He looked around the short table at everyone. Mutsumi, Kaolla, Shinobu and Mitsune were expecting something. Their faces confirmed what Keitaro was afraid of; they didn't know what happened but really wanted to know now. He looked at Naru who was at his side. She was shaking and worrying how this will turn out. Keitaro looked across the table at Kenichi. He saw a nod from Kenichi whose attention moved from Keitaro to Naru. Keitaro realized what Kenichi tried to say. He slowly allowed his hand to fall down beside Naru's, and then grabbed it gently. He was rewarded with a gentle squeeze. Naru looked at him, and he looked back. Her smile calmed the small worries that were inside of him.

"All right now everyone," Motoko said bitterly. "I called you all here to allow Urashima to explain himself."

"Ah! Well… I… and Naru… we were… found in bed together because-"

"WAY TO GO KEITARO!" Mitsune jumped at Keitaro and got him in a playful headlock. "Haha… Took you long enough!"

"It's not what you think, Kitsune!" Naru said. "We didn't… well… not exactly…"

"Ara ara," Mutsumi expressed joyfully.

"Yay!" Kaolla shouted.

"Senpai…" Shinobu whispered as she fainted.

Kenichi did not say anything but he sat down with a self-satisfied look on his face. Motoko was bewildered by the group's response. She caught Kenichi's grin and blew up in anger.

"Why are you congratulating him?! What he did was unacceptable! It is low and dirty AND we have younger girls around!"

"Why are you so angry, Aoyama?" Kenichi asked. "It wasn't like Keitaro did anything without Naru's consent. Besides, they did it in a personal room, away from the rest of us. Now that I finally know what's going on I'm happy for them. Their relationship is finally moving forward."

"Ahh… Kenichi…" Naru said. "Although we weren't wearing clothes… we didn't exactly… you know… finish."

"Well, that makes the relationship even more romantic!" Kenichi proudly stated. "I'm still happy for you two!"

"Only a pervert like you would!" Motoko yelled at him.

"Oh really?" Kenichi replied bitterly. "Is it wrong that I feel happy for the love of a couple?"

"When they aren't even married yet then, yes, it's wrong! And you're wrong for agreeing with the act!" Motoko shouted.

"I think… no, I know you're wrong!" Kenichi yelled at Motoko.

"How… HOW DARE YOU! I will make you pay dearly for such arrogance!"

"I'm not stepping down, Aoyama! You are very wrong and you are the arrogant one! It's sorrowful to see you so angry about so little!"

"Y-You… you… you feel sorry for ME?! What kind of parents raised you to feel sorry for those with morals?!"

"Eh? I-I-I…" Kenichi was appalled. His body became rigid and colour flushed away from his face. He forced himself to smile. "I-I'm sorry. You're right… I'm wrong and this isn't my place… I'll see you guys later."

Kenichi backed out of the room. 

"W-Wait Arai!" Motoko called out. _'I must have said something I shouldn't have… I-I have to… apologize to him.'_

"Hold on a second, Motoko!" Keitaro shouted. "Don't follow him. It's best if you leave him alone for a while."

"Kei-kun…" Mutsumi said sadly. She wanted an explanation and she wasn't alone in that feeling.

"Keitaro, what exactly did Motoko say there that caused such a reaction from Kenichi?" Mitsune demanded.

Keitaro sighed then smiled at his friends. "But I'll have to tell you about Kenichi's past then."

"Senpai!" Shinobu cried out. "Please do! We should know about Kenichi since he's your friend!"

"All right… well then… where should I begin?" Keitaro scratched his head as he gathered his thoughts. "Kenichi was born into a successful family. His father was the CEO of an American/Japanese company. From what Kenichi had told me, his father was a kind and happy man. Although he didn't have much time, what time he did have he would spend it with Kenichi and the family. Unfortunately Kenichi's father died in a plane accident. Shortly after Kenichi's mother died due to her overwhelming grief. This all happened when he was around ten years old."

"Oh my gosh!" Naru expressed. Her feelings were shared with everyone in the room.

"That's… such a sad story, senpai," Shinobu said. Tears began to water up in her eyes.

"But that isn't the end of it, Shinobu." Keitaro looked down at the floor, deciding whether or not he should continue. A nod from Naru gave him his answer. "I don't know exactly when the next situation happened, but I know that it also happened at a young age. One day his sister, Sakura, went outside to play in the forest near their home. Kenichi went out to look for her… but never found her. I remember Kenichi muttering once how she was three years younger than him then… And the problems don't end there. After losing his immediate family Kenichi was forced from relatives to relatives, all of which were greedy people who took Kenichi's inherited wealth but didn't look after him like guardians should. And so, at the age of eighteen Kenichi decided to live by himself."

"But… how did you meet him, Keitaro?" Mitsune asked.

"When Seta and I came to America that one time, Kenichi, who was a local student of the university, signed up to be an assistant and a student of Seta. From that point on the three of us became good friends."

"That was such a horrible past, but…" Naru said. "How is Kenichi happy at all? How does he even smile?"

"Don't forget that he had friends in high school, Narusegawa. Remember the stories he told us? He had a fun life then. And he was a really good person when I met him. To this day I am still surprised that all of that happened to him. He really is a good person at heart. He says that he gets it from his father. Besides… he seemed to have made a… defence to it."

"Defence? What do you mean?" Kaolla asked.

"Well… Seta thinks that it's a psychological thing. Kenichi will tend to… forget things, such as his past. It helps him in a way though. It allows him to cope with himself… to live on."

"Arai…" Motoko said quietly. She stood up and left the room.

"Keitaro," Naru said. "Will everything be all right?"

"Don't worry, Narusegawa. For as long as I have known him, Kenichi has his special way of doing things. Everything will be fine."

"Well then, we should set up a cheer-up party for Kenichi when Motoko brings him back!" Mitsune exclaimed.

***************************************

Walking toward along the beach Mitsune, Kaolla and Shinobu carried the things they needed for a party. Mitsune was satisfied with the two really large sake bottles in her hands. Shinobu held a very large box of groceries and Kaolla carried some bread, which she was eating along the way.

"Mitsune…" Shinobu said. "What do you think of the story that Keitaro told us?"

"Eh?" Mitsune was drinking some of the sake. "If Keitaro told it then I suppose it's true."

"No, I mean now, what do you think of Kenichi?"

"Kenichi… haha… he's even more interesting now. I'm hoping to find out more about him." Mitsune stated. _'I also want to find out more of his love life. Did you honestly think that I would believe you when you said that you never had a girlfriend, Kenichi?'_

"Kenichi is a fun guy!" Kaolla shouted. "He's great fun! We play games all the time!"

"That's not the way it should be, Kaolla!" Shinobu yelled. "How come no one thinks of Kenichi's feelings? We should care more about him. I'm going to take care of Kenichi from now on!"

Mitsune gazed at the horizon. Her expression was calm and collective. "That's nice, Shinobu…" Mitsune looked at the couple that went by them. They held each other very closely. _'I knew what Keitaro was like when I first met him. But you, Kenichi… I don't have a clue…'_

***************************************

"Hey Mutsumi-san!" Keitaro greeted. "What are you doing here?"

Mutsumi, wearing an apron, was in the tea house's kitchen. She was rolling out some dough with a rolling pin while she read some paper on the other table.

"Hi Urashima-kun," Mutsumi returned the greeting with a smile. "I'm baking a cake for Kenichi."

"Oh, that's great!" Keitaro smiled back. "Let me help you! I get a lot of practice with all the dummy Valentine's Day cakes that I make.

"Hehe… me too!" Mutsumi giggled.

The two of them worked hand in hand as they tried to make their best cake ever. Keitaro made special care to include all of Kenichi's favourite ingredients. Soon the cake was baked and all that was left to do was to decorate it.

"Mutsumi-san, why have you been really sad lately?"

"You noticed that, Kei-kun?"

Keitaro nodded in response.

"I… I feel really sorry for Arai-kun… Ever since I met him I felt something wrong with him."

"You're so kind Mutsumi-san."

"You are doing the same, Kei-kun. You always cared for everyone too."

"Aw geez…" Keitaro's face lit up a bright red shade. "Don't worry Mutsumi-san. Everything will be okay. Kenichi is a lot tougher and smarter then what Motoko-chan makes him out to be."

"Okay!" Mutsumi smiled and nodded in agreement. "If Kei-kun says so then it must be true!"

"Haha… thanks Mutsumi-san."

"This cake is almost ready. Kei-kun, could you please get me the icing that is on that table."

"Sure thing."

"But be careful. The chefs spilt some oil earlier."

"No prob… WAAH!" Keitaro slipped and fell toward the table. The corner of the table slammed into his lower mid-section. He landed face forward on to the table, his chin fell on the icing tube. White icing flew everywhere.

"Hey Keitaro!" Naru called out. "Are you in here? The chefs told me that you went into… AHH!"

The sight of Keitaro and Mutsumi shocked Naru. Keitaro was bent over while holding his lower mid-section tightly, and Mutsumi had white cream all over her.

"Ara ara…"

"Narusegawa, it's not what you think!"

"Y-You pervert! I leave you for a second and you…" Naru dashed toward Keitaro, her foot slipped on some oil and she fell to the floor.

"Narusegawa!" Keitaro screamed. He hobbled out of the kitchen with Naru in quick pursuit.

"Ara ara…"

***************************************

On the shore of the beach a tall girl with mid-length black hair was searching for someone. Although it was still pretty early in the day the beach was teeming with active swimmers and sunbathers. The situation did not make Motoko's search any easier.

'Morning tourists… I don't need this. Not now!' 

"Uhh… excuse me miss?" A stranger tried to get Motoko's attention.

'Arai…' 

"Miss?"

'Arai…' 

"Excuse me!"

"Eh?" Motoko snapped to alertness. She stared at the short fat man who was trying to get her attention. "What do you want?"

"Aren't you cruel! Still… I think… well… would you like to accompany me today?"

"What the-?!"

"I find you to be very attractive. Especially… especially this area here…" The man slowly reached toward Motoko's body.

"AIYEEE! *SMASH* Are there any men on this planet who are not perverted?!"

She sent the man flying to a group of women tanning. The resulting screams could be heard from anywhere on the beach. Motoko didn't notice any of them. Her thoughts were focused on something else. _'Arai… Even you didn't deserve such a grave insult. I wonder what you are doing right now…'_

A vivid image of Kenichi committing suicide with her sword filled Motoko's mind.

'NO! What if that happens?! I'll never be able to forgive myself! I have to find Arai… I have to… I have to apologize to him…'

Motoko walked aimlessly. She wanted to find Kenichi but she had no idea where he could be.

'If this was Keitaro I would've found him a long time ago. Where… This is impossible…I'm beginning to worry…' 

"Hey big brother! I'm beating you! Take another shot!"

"Haha… Nice try! But I'm dodging better than you can toss!"

"Eh?" Motoko looked up ahead and saw Kenichi having a sand-tossing battle with a little boy. The boy tossed a sand ball and it smacked Kenichi on the side of the head.

"Haha… good one!"

'Why I ought to…' Motoko's fury drove her to run up to Kenichi. "ARAI!"

"Aoyama!" Kenichi saw the anger in her eyes. "AHH!"

With quick footing Motoko found herself right beside Kenichi with a perfect opportunity to strike.

"No! Don't hit big brother!" The little boy cried out.

"Eh?" Motoko came to her senses. 'I almost hurt Arai again… What's wrong with me today?'

Motoko stood in one spot wavering back and forth as she contemplated what she almost did.

"Big brother…" The little boy said as he tugged on Kenichi's shirt. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's best if you don't say that. She gets uptight about it. And I'm not your big brother, Junya!"

"Well then… take this big brother!" Junya tossed several sand balls into Kenichi's midsection.

"Oww my stomach! You got a good arm, Junya! Prepare yourself for combat!"

The two of them battled it out with sand balls. Motoko stared at them in disbelief.

'He's… so childish…'

"Umm… ahh… Arai… could I speak to you alone, please?"

"What? Eh… sure thing, Aoyama." Kenichi turned around and smiled at the little boy. "Junya, you go back to your mommy now and we'll play some more later, okay?"

"Okay big brother!" Junya merrily hopped away.

"I'm not his big brother," Kenichi said nervously. "Really!"

***************************************

Kenichi and Motoko strolled down the beach shore together. Motoko would steal a glance at Kenichi every now and then to try to figure out what he was thinking. Every time she would see his happy face looking forward.

'People are looking at us,' Motoko thought. 'Those middle aged ladies over there are giggling… *Sigh* Why does it have to be like this?'

From a distance a man with binoculars was watching at them.

"Look Haruka. Kenichi and Motoko are walking down the beach together."

Haruka was sitting on a beach chair, smoking her cigarette and reading the local newspaper. She quickly snatched the binoculars away from Seta without lifting her eyes from the newsprint. "Stop peeping on them."

*Sigh* 'I better ask him about it now,' Motoko thought. "Arai… how do you feel?"

"Hmm… about what?"

"Eh?! About me yelling at you earlier. I said so many inappropriate things that I should not have said. I think I may have hurt your feelings. But I'm unsure so that's why I'm asking you."

"Oh that…" Kenichi laughed. "Haha… Actually, I sort of forgot…"

"Wha… but… I…" Motoko raised her fist in the air. Her forehead bulged several spots. "ARAI!!"

"AHHH! I'm sorry, Aoyama!"

Motoko chased him down the shore. Kenichi would trip and fall on chairs, people, pets, lunches… Motoko would follow in pursuit and hit him several yards ahead whenever she caught up.

"Crazy kids," One old lady said to the next.

"Too much energy. They have too much energy these days!"

After running around for half an hour the two of them slowed down. Kenichi collapsed on the sand, while Motoko sat herself down on a large rock to catch her breath. They stayed like that for several minutes, wordless. Finally the silence was broken when Kenichi said, "I'm out of shape. I haven't ran around like this since… well, since you chased me around Hinata-sou."

"It was your fault!" Motoko rebuked. "You didn't understand the situation."

Kenichi grinned. "You didn't make the situation very clear."

"Eh? I…" Motoko chuckled as she remembered. "Hehe… you're right. But it was funny how you ran the way you did."

"How's the way I run funny?" Kenichi asked.

"Hehe… I mean at the time!"

Kenichi looked at her and smiled. _'She can be cute when she tries.'_

Motoko took in a deep breath and looked at the beach scenery. _'I feel so relaxed right now. I feel… at ease. This is such a good feeling. Maybe I should just enjoy it.'_

"Arai… how did you manage to live by yourself?"

Kenichi closed his eyes and waved his finger around with no real purpose.

"I managed… with the help of my friends."

"They must've been perverted too!" Motoko joked.

"Well this one friend of mine… Hey wait! Why do you continue to call me a pervert?"

"Because you are!" Motoko retorted.

"Still…" Kenichi said quietly. "I don't appreciate that title very much…"

_'Did I just make him sad again?'_ Motoko thought. "Ah… Arai… I'm sor-"

"Hey let's make a deal!" Kenichi exclaimed. "I'll forgive you about whatever you said to me before as long as you forget all the… umm… inappropriate encounters that I had with you."

"That sounds good to me," Motoko said. Kenichi offered his hand and Motoko took it and they shook on it.

"I'm so glad that problem is over with," Kenichi stated as he lied down on the sand again. He closed his eyes and lay there perfectly content.

'He looks so perfectly happy… as though everything is right with the world.'

"Ah… umm… Arai… What was your sister like?"

Kenichi sat up and looked away from Motoko. "I love her. She was such a sweet girl. It's all quite simple really…"

"Ah!" Motoko realized that she had asked too much. "I-I mean… I ask because… well… our situations are very similar."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"At an early age my older sister, Tsuruko and I were left alone to learn the art of Shinmeiryu. And… I love my older sister very much and even to this day she always watches after me, worrying about me."

"I suppose we have a lot in common," Kenichi said cheerfully. He thought of something and asked Motoko in a quiet voice,"Eh… Aoyama… do you think my sister thinks of me like that?"

Motoko stood up from the rock and sat down beside Kenichi. She hugged her legs and looked at Kenichi. "I'm sure that Sakura remembers your love as much as you remembers hers."

Kenichi turned and looked at Motoko straight in the eyes. "… Thank you, Aoyama…"

'Her eyes…so dark, and yet they carry the light of the stars… so beautiful. I feel like I am drowning in them.'

'Why is he looking at me like this? I-I feel so insecure… He has such an honest face… Why do I feel so warm?'

"Arai… you're pushing me…" Motoko said gently.

"I-I'm sorry…"

Losing himself in the moment, Kenichi leaned over some more and gently pushed Motoko on to the sand. He was on top of her staring at her.

"A-Arai…"

"I-I can't help myself… I-I'll get up…"

Motoko blushed as she looked at him. Kenichi's face displayed a deep shade of red as he realized their position. Motoko looked away from Kenichi for a second, to gather a thought, and then looked at him again. Her face blushed even more.

"… A-Arai…"

Without warning, a sand ball slammed against the back of Kenichi's head, sending his head into Motoko's chest. She screamed as she felt the sudden pressure against that area and punched Kenichi into the ocean.

"AHH!!! Big brother is going to be so angry! AHH!" Junya sprinted away with lightning speed.

Motoko sighed as she took in the event. 'That was too close. I almost…' She felt her chest and looked at the ocean. 'I suppose they would be angry if I came back without Arai.' She took off her shirt revealing her swimsuit underneath. With a steady pace she swam out into the ocean to where Kenichi was.

End Episode 6

Author's Comments

I hope you like it so far. This marks the end of Part 1. What do I mean exactly? I broke this (long) story up into 3 parts. Part 1 is kind of the beginning/introduction that serves to introduce the characters and the main plot devices. From here on it all relates to what happened in Part 1. (I hope this all makes sense~) Again I have to apologize – this time for over explanations (of Kenichi's past). You guys must be getting sick of Arai by now ^_^. I had to do it though – to end Part 1. So you guys now know, it's going to be a looong story but I hope you will continue reading ^.~

Take care!


	7. Memorable Festival

Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.

Many thanks to my editors: Chris (dementedchris) and The Archimage.

Episode 7 – Memorable Festival

The gorgeous night, illuminated with festive joy and fun was a sign of an evening that would not be forgotten. It was sundown an hour earlier but the annual beach festival was well under way. Kenichi, wearing a traditional male 'yukata', stood at the outskirts of the celebration as he took in the sight. His hair had gotten a little longer and pointer since his arrival to Hinata-sou. He had a huge grin on his face as he stared at all the attractions that the festival had in store for him. Compared to his friend Urashima Keitaro, he looked excited and more energetic.

"What's with the smile, Kenichi?"

"It has been such a long time since I went to one of this things, Keitaro. In fact… now that I think about it, I've never been to a real Japanese night festival before."

"Haha… then you better make this a night to remember! We'll meet with the girls and take a tour around the place. I'll show you the 'obon' dancers, the festival games, the restaurants, the beautiful tree displays, and once we've done all of that we will go see the fireworks!"

"Ahhhh!" Kenichi's eyes glimmered his passion for fun. "Restaurants… games… fireworks… DANCERS! This is going to be great!"

"Yep! We better get going though. I promised the girls that we would meet them at the entrance to the festival grounds."

"Let's get going then!" Kenichi grinned. "What are we waiting for?!"

Along the way to the entrance Kenichi looked at all the other people who were already enjoying the festival; families, couples, friends of all kinds were laughing and smiling as they made their ways to the main attractions. Kenichi quickly stopped as a child, pretending to be an airplane, ran in front of him with a friend following in pursuit.

"Brings the life out of people, eh?" Kenichi asked.

"Kids love to have fun you know," Keitaro replied with a smile. "Look, the girls are up ahead."

They were all wearing 'yukatas', the traditional clothes usually reserved for festive occasions. All the girls bought new ones this year. The group of them looked well together; their colours balanced one another and were a sight for any pair of eyes.

"Oh wow…" Keitaro exclaimed out loud. "So beautiful…"

The girls blushed at the compliment. Motoko blushed as well but had an annoyed look on her face. "What are you thinking, Arai?"

"Haha… the same as Keitaro is thinking. But you… truly do look like the 'Yamato Nadesico'." [Japanese Beauty]

"Umm…. t-thank you-"

"HEY KEN-KEI!" Kaolla swung from a nearby tree branch and delivered a crushing kick to Kenichi and Keitaro. The force of the kick sent the two guys into the girls. Keitaro landed between Naru's legs and Kenichi landed snuggly on Mitsune's chest.

*BAM* "The festival had just begun and you are already up to your old habits!" Naru scolded Keitaro as she sent him flying with a punch.

*SMASH* "You leech! Go away and stay away!" Motoko yelled as she sent Kenichi following Keitaro with a kick.

"Ara ara"

"Arai-senpai… Urashima-senpai…"

"Don't worry about them," Naru said. "They'll enjoy the evening themselves."

"Isn't that a little cold, Naru?" Mitsune asked.

"Boys will be boys," Naru commented.

***************************************

"Oww… my head," Kenichi whined. The two of landed in the middle of the festival. Around them was a bustling celebration filled with people of various ages. With the sun down the soft lights from the lanterns complimented the beautiful moon up high above them. Tourists and local residents proved themselves to be a lively bunch as they quickly moved from one game to the next to be able to take in the whole festival.

"We may as well enjoy ourselves, Keitaro."

"I guess you're right. No point in trying to calm down the girls now." Keitaro sighed. '_It wasn't even our fault!_'

"Hello? Keitaro? What's with the huge sigh? Lighten up. We got the whole night to take advantage of. If we let that bother us then the festivities would be wasted on us!"

Kenichi grinned as he looked around. "We got lots we can do! Let's… have a challenge!"

"Oh? Which one?"

"Good question… How about the ball tossing game?"

Keitaro laughed. "All right, but I've been practicing!"

He paid the game attendant the fee and tossed all three balls at the glass bottles. The balls went wide and didn't even nick the glass bottles. As the realization of his miss settled in, Keitaro's jaw dropped with shock.

"You sure that you've been practicing the right sport?" Kenichi genuinely asked.

"AHH! It's not my fault! This game is fixed!"

"Hahaha… sure it is… or perhaps it's your lack of strength?" Kenichi joked as he poked Keitaro around his stomach.

"Hey! S-stop t-that," Keitaro said as he suppressed his ticklish laughter.

"Oi! If you two are going to be like that then one of you should try to look cuter."

The two of them turned toward the person who passed the comment. It was a very old man with gray hair all over his head.

"AHH! It's not like that!" Keitaro and Kenichi shouted at the same time.

"Is that so?" The old man asked. "When I was your age I was chasing girls all day and all night."

"We've… been having some troubles with the girls lately…" Keitaro told the old man.

"Is that so? When I was your age I had lots of troubles with the girls too. *Sigh* What I would give to be young and energetic again… You guys are lucky to live in a time where all the girls are lively and pretty."

"Uhh… sure thing, sir," Kenichi humoured him.

"At the very least, you two should try to have a good time anyways," The old man stated. He pointed his finger at them and stated, "Girls are fun, but only a guy knows how to make the most of his time!"

"Uhh…" Keitaro had a nervous look on his face. "Well… I suppose we should follow your advice."

"Weren't we doing that before?" Kenichi whispered to Keitaro.

"Be quiet and he will leave us alone," Keitaro whispered back. He smiled at the old man and spoke loudly. "You are right! We haven't had time to ourselves since… America!"

Kenichi laughed. "That's right… now we can have…"

***************************************

"A RAMEN EATING CONTEST!"

The two guys were in heavy competition as they tried to best one another. It was an odd sight and people who passed by couldn't help but look at them for a bit.

"You *gulp* can't *chomp* beat me, Keitaro. You're *chew* not used to eating *gulp* this much."

"I've been *slurp* practicing!"

Two waitresses were looking at them from a distance.

"Ara… look at them go," one said to the other.

"They are such idiots. I know at least one of them will throw up later. Idiots."

"Perhaps, but they are awfully cute when they compete like this!"

The waitress looked at her coworker who just said the comment. She looked at the two guys who were inhaling their food. It was a very messy sight. She covered her mouth in disgust.

"WHAT?! You think they look cute?!"

***************************************

After emptying an impressive amount of ramen bowls the two guys hobbled their way out of the restaurant. People who passed by them laughed at the silly sight.

"Hey Keitaro. I think my yukata doesn't fits right anymore…"

"Haha… I wonder why?" Keitaro looked at Kenichi who looked very unhealthy. "You know… you didn't have to eat two more bowls after I gave up."

"Yeah… but there were two waitresses watching."

"Eh?" Keitaro spoke in a mellow tone. "You crazy foreigner."

Kenichi smiled. "No really! They were!"

"And I still don't understand you."

"Well there isn't much to und- *umph*" A ball made contact with Kenichi's stomach.

"Ahh! So sorry mister! My friend missed the catch. Are you all right?"

"Are you okay, Kenichi?" Keitaro asked.

Kenichi leaned over the nearest garbage can and threw up the meal he just had.

"Ewww mister."

"What the? I knew you shouldn't have eaten so much. Napkin Kenichi?"

"Oi… thanks."

"Will you be okay? Do we need to-"

"I feel great!" Kenichi yelled exuberantly. "It's as though a heavy weight is no longer with me!"

"That's because you left it in the garbage."

"How about another game?" Kenichi asked ignoring Keitaro's comment. "Let's go do… the shooting game next!"

"I'll go first again," Keitaro said with a smile. "I got to win this time."

Keitaro picked up a little pellet gun. He took aim at some of the numerous fluffy animals. The goal was to knock down one or two with the pellets, and so he readied himself. 

*Pow* *Pow* *Pow* "Eh? I missed them all?!"

"Geez friend," Kenichi said with concern in his tone. "This isn't your day today is it?"

Kenichi eyed his targets and carefully determined his actions. "All right sir. Hand me the weapon! *Pow* *Pow* *Pow* Hey! I got them all!"

"What?! How?!"

"Haha… next time try using 'both' your eyes, Keitaro." Kenichi joked. He took his prized from the game attendant.

*Sigh* "Maybe you're right. Maybe today isn't my day."

"Perhaps." Kenichi answered while waving at some children.

"I think I should go find Naru now and apologize."

"I guess I should go with you and apologize too." Kenichi gave his prizes to the wide-eyed, smiling children. "You guys go have fun now, and don't cause trouble!"

"Who are you talking to, Kenichi?" Keitaro turned around to look at him.

"Huh? Oh, no one. We should be getting on our way."

"Hey you guys!"

"Who?" Keitaro and Kenichi turned around.

"Oh, hey you two!" Kenichi greeted. "Umm… Hachiro and Shinzo, right?"

"IT'S HAITANI!"

"AND SHIRAI!"

"Really? Could've fooled me," Keitaro stated.

"Keitaro, thank goodness we found you!" Haitani shouted.

"We need to borrow some money!" Shirai added.

"Wait a second!" Keitaro shouted with an angry tone. "Whenever I needed money you guys would trick me or not even let me borrow any at all!"

"Please? Just this time?" Haitani got on his knees.

"Umm… maybe I could help you guys out," Kenichi offered. "You guys did help me out a couple of days ago."

"Oh really?! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Haitani and Shirai ran up to Kenichi and hugged him from both sides.

"I-I-I'm h-happy to h-h-help… I g-guess…"

***************************************

"I understand that you guys wanted to get your hands on the new manga by Akamatsu, but what's with the dirty doujinshi?!" Keitaro yelled at Haitani and Shirai.

"Haha… leave them be," Kenichi said. He leaned over to Keitaro and whispered, "It's not like you don't have a couple of those in your room."

"My life is now full of joy!" Haitani exclaimed. "My tears are flowing like waterfalls."

"What a glorious day!" Shirai added.

"All of this excitement over smut?" Kenichi grinned.

Up ahead of the four guys were the girls. The majority of them were enjoying their time, but two of them were uncomfortable.

"Naru-senpai, I hate to say this but I am starting to worry where Urashima and Arai could've gone. They may be causing havoc all over this festival."

"Don't you mean we have to apologize to them, Motoko?"

"Ah… yes… I suppose so."

"Oh no! Shirai look up there!" Haitani told his friend.

"What is it?"

"A class 'C' emergency! We can't be caught with these things! Let's get out of here!"

Haitani and Shirai handed off all of the manga and doujinshi to Keitaro and Kenichi.

"Hey! What are you two doing?" Kenichi asked. Before he could get a response the two of them ran off leaving Keitaro and Kenichi alone with the dirty books.

"So this is what you two have been doing!" Motoko and Naru said. Their arms were crossed and a raging fire was around them. Their eyes gave the impression that they were out for blood. "Haven't had enough ecchi for one day, have you, Arai?"

*Gulp* "Aoyama, I-it's n-n-not l-like w-wh-w-what… RUN KEITARO!"

Keitaro and Kenichi took off as fast as they could with the girls in quick pursuit.

"I don't think we will be able to keep up this speed with this books in our hands, Keitaro!"

"You're right. Since you paid for them… you take care of them!" Keitaro tossed all the books on to Kenichi's hands.

"WAAH! Why me?!"

"Think of something! But for now, let's split up!"

Keitaro took a left turn and left Kenichi with the dirty books.

"What am I going to-… JUNYA!"

"Oh hi big brother!" Junya greeted while running alongside Kenichi. "What are you doing? Is this a game?"

"Not really. Listen carefully because I don't have much time. Take these books and see that old man over there by the ball tossing game? Give all of these books to the old man, okay? BUT whatever you do, DON'T LOOK AT THEM!"

"Okay big brother! I will surely do just that!"

"Thanks Junya!" Kenichi said while patting his head. "You are a good kid. Now, I got to go so see you later!"

"Bye bye big brother!"

***************************************

The building that Kenichi entered was a dark one. It didn't matter to him though. It allowed him his time to catch his breath and think things over. He knew that Junya was a good kid and so he didn't worry about him. He thought where Keitaro was and hoped that the girls didn't catch him. After regaining most of his strength back Kenichi analyzed the place that he was in. The dark and desolate the atmosphere gave him the creeps.

'_Obviously this must be the scary house,_' Kenichi thought. '_Haha… what am I getting so worked up about? I've been to places like these before. They are filled with nothing but-_'

"AHHHHHHH!!"

"AHHHHHHH!!"

"Ah geez, Keitaro! You could've given me a heart attack!"

"Well I lost five days out of my life because of that!" Keitaro said.

After realizing what just took place the two guys pointed at each other and laughed.

"Boo!"

"AHHHHHHH!!" The two guys screamed simultaneously.

"Hahaha… you guys are too easy to scare." Sara McDougal revealed herself with a flashlight. "Aren't you guys acting a little too 'intimate' for friends?"

"Eh?" Keitaro and Kenichi separated from each other and tried to act normally.

"Ahem," Kenichi falsely coughed. "I can't help it if Keitaro needs to hug someone when he get's scared."

"At least I didn't have a tight grip," Keitaro shot back.

"Hahaha… you guys are too much!" Sara said as she ran away.

"Umm… hey Keitaro. How about we put this incident behind us?"

Keitaro accepted the handshake and nodded in agreement. 

They left the scary house just in case Sara got any more of her infamous ideas. Kenichi looked at the nearby clock. There was still time to take part in the activities before the fireworks.

"Hey Keitaro! How about another challenge?"

"I don't kn- *umph* WAAH!" A stranger ran into Keitaro and fell down on top of him. He quickly got up and ran away from the two of them.

"What the?" Kenichi watched the stranger run off. He turned his attention toward his friend who was still lying on the ground. "Keitaro, are you alright?"

Keitaro's head was waving around erratically and his eyes were unfocused. "Ahh… for once Kenichi… the world is revolving around me…"

Kenichi helped Keitaro get up. He quickly inspected his friend to make sure there were no permanent damages.

"STOP! Someone, please stop that thief!" an old lady shouted.

"Thief?" Kenichi asked.

"That man who just knocked down your friend! He stole my store's cash box!"

Kenichi and Keitaro looked at each other and nodded in agreement of a plan.

The two dashed after the thief. People watched on as the two young men in yukatas chased the hooded culprit. 

"Kind of takes us back to the days when we were Artifact Hunters with Seta, ne?" Kenichi said.

"Something like that. Only this time we are chasing a thief instead of stationary relics."

As two minutes passed, Keitaro realized that they weren't making any real progress.

"Get ready Kenichi!"

"Whenever you are."

Keitaro stopped and picked up a tree branch. Opening both of his eyes he took aim. With a swift thrust forward Keitaro send the branch spinning toward the thief's legs.  The branch got caught between the legs and sent the thief falling down. Shaking off the pain the thief got up on to his feet again and continued his getaway – only this time Kenichi was in place for an attack.

"Metsu-… no, I won't use that. Time for some good old fashion fighting skills."

With the momentum that he carried while running Kenichi bounced off a tree and did a double flip and then a spin kick. His attack made contact with the thief's head and knocked him out cold. Kenichi grinned at his work and looked at Keitaro who caught up with them.

"Nice toss," Kenichi complimented with a thumbs up.

"Nice kick," Keitaro replied with a thumbs up.

***************************************

The store that the old lady owned was a souvenir store. Filled with stuffed toys and little trinkets it was certain that anyone who visited the festival would've dropped by. The weight of the cash box also supported that fact. Keitaro stood in awe, as he looked at the two photo sticker machines side by side.

"No, I'm not going to take a picture with you," Kenichi stated.

"Come on! Why not?" Keitaro asked.

"I'm no good with pictures, that's why. I always end up making some kind of stupid face."

"Just grin like you always do and you should be fine."

"Let's do what we came here to do!"

"Ahh… you're no fun." Keitaro's head sunk in disappointment. He looked around for the old lady and couldn't find her. He called out, "Old lady!"

Kenichi also couldn't find her. "Miss?"

"Young man, I'm too old to be called that." The old lady showed up from behind Kenichi, which surprised him.

"Ahh… haha… I'm only trying to be polite."

"Oh really?" The old lady laughed. "Haha… you sure crack me up. I like you and because you also brought back my money I will give you a reward."

"What? Oh no, it's perfectly all right. Keitaro and I only-"

"You will take the reward," the old lady interrupted.

"Yes ma'am," Kenichi responded quietly.

"You will take the reward because the money you recovered for me… it will go to feed a starving family."

*Sniff* *sniff* "That's the sweetest thing I ever heard," Kenichi said.

"Is that story true?" Keitaro asked cynically. He points to her memo on her desk that says 'out drinking'.

"Haha… no the story isn't true. I just need the money because my husband and I are going drinking later."

"You tricked me!"

"Haha… cute and lively! Whoever gets her hands on you is going to be a lucky girl!"

"Ahh…" Kenichi blushed an immense shade of red.

"Here." The old lady took something out from a secret closet and handed it to Kenichi.

"What is this?!" Kenichi yelled.

"I-I-it's so… cute?!" Keitaro commented.

"Yes! That it is." The old lady nodded in agreement. "This is no ordinary stuffed animal. It contains great powers! Who and how you give this stuffed animal away will affect the happiness of all your closest friends!"

"Hey! I don't want this power!"

"It's too late! It's yours now!" The old lady pushed Keitaro and Kenichi with the stuffed animal in his hands outside her store. She abruptly closes and locks the door behind them.

Keitaro and Kenichi stared blankly at each other. After a moment Kenichi looked down at the stuffed animal in his hands. It was so cute that it sent shivers down his spine when he looked at it. An overwhelming desire to hug it took the better of Kenichi and he embraced the stuffed animal.

"What do you think you are doing?" Keitaro asked while still in shock.

"Ahh… sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"Maybe we should get rid of it?"

"No!" Kenichi shouted. "What if… what if, by doing that I make everyone unhappy?"

"That is a possibility," Keitaro pondered. "I suppose all you can do now is to don't worry too much about it for now."

"Why is this 'my' problem all of a sudden? You helped me catch the thief! This little furball is as much mine as it is yours."

"No, he isn't. The old lady gave it to you because…" Keitaro smiled. "She thought you were cuter."

"Laugh all night long," Kenichi said coldly. "Laugh all night long."

He looked down at the stuffed animal. "WAHH! What am I going to do?!"

"Why are you screaming this time, Kenichi-kun?" Seta walked up to them with Haruka closely beside them. The two of them were wearing yukatas to join in the festive fun.

"Sara said you guys were causing mischief."

"If only, Seta-san," Kenichi mumbled.

"Why so down, Kenichi-kun? Shouldn't you guys be having fun with the girls?"

"We kind of got them angry again," Keitaro said.

"Is that the problem?" Seta asked.

"No. The problem is that we recovered some money for an old lady and she gave me a bewitched stuffed animal that is unbearably cute!" Kenichi shouted as he showed off the stuffed animal.

The cigarette fell from Haruka's lips and she stood there in shock.

"Wow! Is that thing really cursed?" Seta asked. "I would like to stud-… Haruka-chan, are you all right?"

"T-that thing… it… it… I have this weird urge to hug it!"

"Waah! I got to get this thing away from everyone!" Kenichi pulled the stuffed animal away from anyone's reach and sprinted away from the group.

"AHHH!"

***************************************

He had been running for some time. Kenichi looked around and realized that he was in a different area – one that he hasn't gotten around to yet. There were fewer games and attractions but more shops and restaurants. Unique flashy signs served to attract customers to the shops, but now only serve to annoy Kenichi. He was tired and weary from the running. Most of all he was frustrated about the stuff animal in his arms. He wanted so much just to toss it into the water stream nearby and be done with it, but he was scared of the consequences.

"Maybe if life was as simple as an RPG… or even a dating-sim…" Kenichi nodded at his resolution. "Yeah… that would be nice…"

"Kenichi plays with dating-sims?"

"Eh? Kaolla… Shinobu-chan… and even Mutsumi-san!" What are you guys doing here?"

"We stopped by for some food, Arai-senpai," Shinobu answered.

"Yep! They got good food here!" Kaolla shouted.

"What are you doing here, Arai-kun?" Mutsumi asked.

"Umm… well I was trying to get rid of-"

"WOAHH! What is that Kenichi! It's SO CUTE!" Kaolla jumped at Kenichi.

"AIIIYEE! Can I see that Arai-senpai?"

"Ara ara… kawaii!"

The three girls quickly moved toward the stuffed animal in Kenichi's hands. Kaolla kicked him in the head. Shinobu pulled on his arm and Mutsumi fell on him.

"Ack! I got to *umph* get out of here… oww!"

Kenichi squeezed himself out of the pile on and blindly dashed away. He fell into someone and felt something soft and warm in his hand.

"Eh?"

"Well look at that cute little thing you got down there, Kenichi."

"Kitsune?!"

"If you ask nicely then I'll hold that thingie of yours for a while."

"WHAT?!"

Mitsune looked away and closed her eyes. "We should try to get to know each other a little bit better first, Kenichi…. Kenichi?"

She turned around and found him running away in full sprint.

"I'll take my chances with the others!" He yelled.

***************************************

Keitaro stood looking at the one person who he cared for most in the world. Usually she would be angry at something that he did but at that moment and place she was laughing. Laughing at the story that he was telling her.

"And so after the old lady locked the store Kenichi was panicking. You should have seen his face!"

"Aww… isn't that cute. He is worrying over a cute toy!" Naru smiled as she imagined what it might have looked like. "I would like to see it."

"I don't know, Narusegawa. It made Haruka want to hug it! I tell you that thing is cursed!"

"Hahaha… don't believe old wives' tales, Keitaro."

"Well I-" Keitaro ended in mid sentence as he watched a lady look around frantically. Her face was covered with tears showing that she had, or still was, crying.

Naru approached the lady. "Miss, what is the matter?"

"My Mizuki!" she sobbed. "She's missing!"

***************************************

After another period of time Kenichi found himself at the beach shore. His breathing was more erratic then normal and he felt sweat form on his forehead.

"Why… after… all of… this… running… I am… still… out of… shape?"

"Perhaps you are just not meant for it, Arai."

"Aoyama! Why are you here?" Kenichi asked in a friendly manner.

Motoko got off the rock that she was sitting on and gracefully walked toward Kenichi.

"We all promised to meet here for the fireworks. They should be starting soon, but nonetheless, I'm the first one here. So, what brings you hear, Arai? You don't plan to do anything perverted again are you?"

"Ahh…" Motoko stare made Kenichi feel very uncomfortable. "No… hopefully not I mean… I mean definitely not!"

"Hey… what are you hiding behind your back?"

"What this?" Kenichi presented the stuffed animal. A memory quickly surfaced to his head. 

_"This is no ordinary stuffed animal. It contains great powers! Who and how you give this stuffed animal away will affect the happiness of all your closest friends!"_

"Ahhh! You can't have it!"

"It is impossibly cute!" Motoko said. "I… have to hug it!"

"I'm sorry, Aoyama, but I refuse to let you have it!" Kenichi dashed away from Motoko with the stuffed animal tightly held under his arm.

"I'll pry that stuffed animal from your cold hands if I have to! Cry of the Phoenix, 'DEMONIC FIST'!" Kenichi dodged the fist technique in a sluggish manner. He lost his balance and landed face first into a tree stump.

"Oww…"

"Why are you being so selfish? I just wish to hug it! If only you shared. Things would be easier that way."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to make anyone unhappy!"

"Your selfishness will be your downfall! Cry of the Phoenix 'FINAL MOVE'!"

"WAAH!" Kenichi managed to dodge most of the attack but some of the 'Ki' skimmed his rear end. '_I got to get away from her as soon as possible. Staying here will only make her angrier._'

Kenichi ran several paces forward, only to have Motoko quickly following behind him.

*sniff* *sniff*

"Eh? What was that?" Kenichi asked out loud.

"So you have decided to-"

"Stop Aoyama!" Kenichi's strong yell quieted Motoko's comment. He carefully listened to the area around him. Motoko stood staring in wonder at what Kenichi was doing. A sound – a gentle sound was heard. It was the whimper of a child. Motoko silently follows Kenichi as he went about to find the source of the cry. After some careful listening Kenichi found her, a little girl under a tree. Her eyes were red from crying and her hair was all tussled about. Her cheeks were rosy from rubbing. Kenichi slowly approached her. He spoke softly to her.

"Hi there little one. My name is Kenichi. Why are you crying?"

"M-my… m-mama… I w-want my m-mama."

"Don't worry. I'll bring you back to your mama. I promise." Kenichi took the stuffed animal from his arm. "Do you like stuffed animals? This one is a little dirty now, but if you want it then it's yours."

"Woah!" The little girl's eyes lit up as she saw the stuffed animal. Her smile grew wider and wider as she slowly took the stuffed animal from Kenichi's hands.

*Pheewww KABOOM* *Phewwww KABOOM*

"The fireworks are starting!" Kenichi shouted excitement. "Do you want to get on my shoulders? You'll see better that way."

"Yes! Yes please big brother!"

"Haha… you don't have to call me big brother."

Motoko took in the sight. The fireworks were larger and more beautiful this year, but they did not capture her attention. Her focus was on Kenichi and the little girl on his shoulders. Just a moment ago she was crying and now she was merrily playing with the stuffed animal on top of Kenichi's head. As a firework would ignite the two of them would shout with glee. Motoko smiled. She moved slowly beside Kenichi.

"W-What are you doing, Aoyama?"

"It's getting cold. That's all." Motoko stated. "What are you getting so nervous about?"

"Haha… nothing really," Kenichi nervously laughed. '_A moment ago you were trying to kill me. Other then that, nothing really._'

Kenichi, with the corner of his eye, looked at Motoko. '_You do look beautiful in that yukata._'

"MIZUKI!" A lady yelled.

"Mama!" the little girl acknowledged as she heard her name being called.

"Oh my Mizuki! Thank goodness I found you!"

Kenichi smiled at Motoko and she smiled back. Then they just realized that everyone else had shown up.

"How did you know the girl would be with Kenichi?" Naru asked Keitaro.

Keitaro smiled and looked at Kenichi. "I just know that an individual here will always play hero whenever a child is in need."

"Mama, mama! Look here! Big brother gave me Ken-kun!"

"Ken-kun?" her mother asked.

"Yep! I name it after big brother!"

Kenichi grinned when he heard her speak. Her happy and energetic voice was delight to his ears. He looked around and realized that everyone else was looking at him.

"Umm… Kaolla… Shinobu-chan… Mutsumi-san… I can explain…" Kenichi placed Mizuki down. "She needed the stuffed animal more then you guys so I-"

"WAAH! Arai-senpai is so sweet!" Shinobu, Kaolla and Mutsumi ran up and hugged Kenichi.

"I… can't… breath…"

After the three of them let go of Kenichi, Mitsune walked up to him and placed her arms around him. She leaned on him – her front to his back. "Don't you know better then to act like that? Such actions and emotions can take over a girl's feelings."

"W-w-what?"

Everyone laughed at Kenichi's insecurity. Motoko was the only one who didn't laugh. She carefully looked at Kenichi. When he returned her gaze Motoko felt her face warm up.

"Umm… good job, Arai."

"… Thank you, Aoyama. Thank you, everyone! This has been… an interesting night to say the least."

Together they all watched on as the fireworks continued their beautiful eruption of colours.

***************************************

_I don't understand these feelings inside me. They aren't like the ones I felt for Urashima. These ones are more confusing and more awkward. I doubt that it has anything to do with 'that'. It's not the same – it can't be the same. But when I look at him…what is the sensation that I get? And yet… there is no way around it. Even my sword and all my training cannot help me now. I wish I can understand… why when I look at him… when I'm near him… I feel so warm… so at ease…_

End Episode 7

Author's Comments

Thank you – all of you, for such kind words. I never expected to get so many reviews like this. *Sigh* You guys are too good for me ^_~ This is the beginning of Part 2 and I wanted to start off with more humour then actual story progress (well… ^.^) Haha… anyway, I will keep on writing – that is my promise. But lately I find it difficult to actually have the time to write! Ahh… my mind is thinking well right now, more comments next episode. Ja ne! (Yeah, I changed my pen name. Did you notice? ^_^)

Next Episode: My little Sister


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